Chapter 10: Outsmarting the Boss

The next patient gave him a much better reason to use Appraisal.

A cavalryman had three thin fragments of something dark buried beneath the skin near his shoulder. They looked like pieces of wood until one of them gave off a faint blue pulse. Maela stopped Zishan before he reached for the nearest fragment.

"That came from a shield reinforced with magic," she explained. "Some of the Mana can remain trapped inside the fragments. Pull one out carelessly, and it might discharge. Be careful, it’s Lightning Magic."

Zishan leaned closer without touching it. "So removing it could trigger whatever’s left."

"Use your Skill if you insist on staring."

He looked at her. "You know about Appraisal?"

Maela gave him a puzzled look. "Of course, I know about it."

Zishan waited for more.

"Appraisal Skills aren’t rare, kid. Healers use them. Merchants use them. Quartermasters, craftsmen, soldiers. The exact Skill and what it can identify varies, but you’re hardly the first person to have one."

Zishan stared at her for a moment before directing his thoughts toward the System.

’You could have mentioned that.’

[The Dumb Host never asked.]

Zishan groaned internally.

He looked back at Maela. "Then why couldn’t I get much from Commander Holtz?"

"Because you’re weak, kid. Commander Holtz is one of the strongest in the entire Kingdom of Olmost. We don’t know exactly what his level was, but he must be at Level 500—basically a country-level threat," Maela replied.

Zishan’s face stiffened.

Maela continued before he could defend himself. "Nonetheless, the Appraisal Skill isn’t some all-knowing eye, but it could probably evolve into that, but I don’t know the specifics on how to. I’ve never seen records regarding this part. Anyway, the quality of the information depends on the Skill, your control, your Perception, your Mana, and the target itself. Trying to read someone far above you is like staring through a wall and complaining that you can’t see the room behind it."

Zishan slowly nodded. "So you’re saying I’m not weak. The wall is just too strong."

"I’m saying you’re weak."

He opened his mouth, decided that continuing would only give her more opportunities to insult him, and focused on the cavalryman’s shoulder instead.

’Appraisal.’

Mana gathered behind his eyes, although he controlled it much more carefully than before. The Skill spread across the wounded area rather than the entire soldier, and the familiar understanding from the Perfected Glimpse immediately guided his focus.

A panel appeared.

[Residual Arcane Fragment]

[Material: Blackwood Composite]

[Condition: Unstable]

[Contained Mana: 11%]

[Discharge Type: Lightning]

[Removal Risk: Moderate]

Zishan blinked.

’Oh. That’s actually useful.’

[The Dumb Host has discovered the intended purpose of Appraisal. Congratulations, Dumb Host!]

’Can you shut up for five seconds while I’m trying to be competent? Grr!’

He concentrated on the second fragment.

[Contained Mana: 4%]

[Removal Risk: Low]

Then the third.

[Contained Mana: 37%]

[Removal Risk: Severe]

Zishan immediately stopped.

"Don’t touch the one closest to the collarbone."

Maela’s attention shifted toward him. "Why?"

"It has much more Mana trapped inside it than the other two. Lightning and some kind of kinetic discharge. If you pull that one first, I’m pretty sure he’s going to have a very bad day."

The cavalryman, who had been silently listening, went noticeably paler.

Maela leaned closer to inspect the fragment. Pale green light spread from her fingertips, but after several seconds her expression became more serious.

"You can tell how much Mana is left in them?" she asked.

Zishan nodded as he looked at his System panel again. "Eleven percent in the lower fragment. Four in the middle. Thirty-seven in the one near the collarbone."

Maela turned toward him.

Instead of responding, she reached into a nearby tray and took out a thin silver instrument with a crystal set into its handle. She held it above each fragment one at a time.

The crystal flickered faintly over the first. Barely reacted to the second. Then flashed bright blue over the third.

Maela’s expression changed.

"...Interesting."

Zishan’s mouth slowly curled upward. "Was I right?"

"Don’t get cocky just because you have the Appraisal, kid. Hurry up. Just do your thing," Maela replied in a flat tone.

"That means I was right," he said while silently laughing inside his heart. ’So this is what it feels like when you outsmart your boss. Wahahaha!’

"No," Maela answered. "It just means shut up and hold his shoulder."

Zishan happily accepted the victory regardless.

They removed the fragments one at a time, starting with the safest. Maela suppressed the remaining Mana around each piece before pulling it free, while Zishan watched the values through Appraisal and warned her whenever the trapped energy began shifting.

It was the first time he had used the Skill for something other than curiosity.

And for some reason, it felt considerably more satisfying.

The cavalryman left several minutes later with his shoulder wrapped and most of the color returned to his face.

Zishan folded his arms proudly. "See? Useful."

Maela handed him the bloody tray. "Clean this."

His pride disappeared. "You could have let me enjoy that for at least ten seconds."

Before Maela could answer, someone called her name from the other end of the station.

"Healer Maela!"

A young auxiliary rushed toward them, breathing heavily. "The patient from the southern line is getting worse."

Maela’s expression changed immediately. "Which one?"

"The one with the fever. We used the cooling draught again, but his temperature keeps rising. He started convulsing."

The amusement disappeared from Maela’s face. "Take me to him."

Zishan followed without being asked.

The patient lay near the back of the second tent, separated from the others by a hanging sheet. He looked young, perhaps only a few years older than Zishan, but his skin had taken on a grayish color beneath the sweat. His breathing came in short, uneven bursts, and both arms trembled against the cot despite the straps keeping him from rolling onto the floor.

A healer stood beside him with both hands glowing pale green.

"It’s not responding," the healer said. "I closed the wound hours ago. There shouldn’t be this much deterioration."

Zishan’s eyes moved toward the patient’s side.

A bandage covered the lower ribs.

"What happened to him?" he asked.

Maela approached the cot. "Piercing wound during the southern engagement. The weapon entered below the ribs. It was removed before he arrived here, and the wound was closed."

"Before he arrived?" Zishan asked.

Maela nodded.

"Do you know what stabbed him?" Zishan looked at the man on the cot. "It seems to be getting worse."

"He was stabbed by a spear," Maela replied.

Their conversation halted as the man’s body suddenly jerked against the cot. Another convulsion ran through him.

Zishan stopped thinking about his Mana consumption. He didn’t care. He just felt like he needed to help the man in front of him.

’Appraisal!’

[The System recommends caution. Current Mana reserves remain—]

’I KNOW!’

The Skill spread across the patient.

For a moment, too much information appeared at once.

[Human]

[Male]

[Condition: Critical]

[Body Temperature: Severe Elevation]

[Circulatory Instability]

[Respiratory Distress]

[Foreign Mana Detected]

[Unknown Contaminant Detected]

Zishan’s eyes narrowed. ’Appraise deeper!’

The Skill responded.

His understanding of Appraisal immediately sharpened, allowing him to isolate the area around the wound rather than wasting Mana across the man’s entire body.

The information changed.

[Puncture Wound — Closed]

[Residual Foreign Matter Detected]

[Localized Tissue Death]

[Rapid Systemic Contamination]

[Foreign Mana Interference]

[Probable Outcome Without Intervention: Death]

Zishan’s expression became serious, and he quickly said, "Open the wound."

The healer beside the patient stared at him. "What?"

"Just open it!"

Maela looked toward him, her forehead wrinkled. "Explain your side. We won’t open the wound just because you said so."

"Something is still inside, and I’m obviously not talking about the spear." He stepped closer and pointed toward the bandaged area. "There’s foreign material still inside the wound. The outside was closed, but whatever got left behind is killing the tissue underneath."

Maela’s expression tightened. "Can you identify it?"

"Not yet."

The patient’s breathing hitched again.

Zishan looked at the darkening skin around the wound and suddenly remembered something from his old world. Closing contaminated wounds too early could trap bacteria and foreign material inside, turning the sealed tissue into exactly the kind of environment infection wanted.

Except this world had Mana, which meant whatever was happening inside the soldier could be considerably worse.

"Did anyone clean the wound before closing it?" he asked.

The other healer looked at him. "Of course!"

"How?"

"Purification wash, followed by a cleansing spell."

"Did anyone inspect how deep it went?"

"..."

Zishan already had his answer.

Maela looked at him for a moment before making a decision. "Open it."

The healer hesitated for a moment but still obeyed. The moment the wound reopened, dark fluid leaked from between the stitches.

The smell hit Zishan almost immediately.

His face tightened.

’Oh, that’s bad.’

Maela’s expression had become much more serious. "Necrosis."

"Yeah." Zishan leaned closer without touching the wound. "And something else is inside."

He used Appraisal again, narrowing the Skill as far as he could. The world around him seemed to disappear as information layered itself over the damaged tissue.

Then, he saw it.

A thin dark fragment had lodged deep between two sections of muscle, almost completely hidden beneath the inflamed tissue. It was barely larger than a fingernail.

But Appraisal did not care how small it was.

[Foreign Object Detected]

[Material: Unknown Organic Composite]

[Condition: Degrading]

[Property: Mana-Reactive]

[Effect: Accelerated Tissue Corruption]

[Secondary Effect: Toxic Mana Release]

Zishan’s eyes widened. "There."

Maela followed his gaze. "Where?"

"Deep inside, there’s a small fragment. It’s releasing something into the tissue."

The older healer beside them looked doubtful. "I can’t sense anything."

"I can."

"..."

Zishan immediately realized how arrogant that sounded, but he did not care. "If we leave it there, he’s going to die."

A greenish panel suddenly appeared directly over the patient.

[EMERGENCY QUEST]

[Save the Dying Soldier!]

[Objective: Identify the true cause of the patient’s deterioration and successfully stabilize his condition before systemic collapse.]

[Additional Objective: Prevent permanent organ damage!]

[Time Remaining: 18 Minutes 42 Seconds]

Zishan’s face changed immediately. ’THERE’S A TIMER?!’

[The Dumb Host is advised to stop wasting it.]

Then, the rewards appeared.

[Quest Rewards]

[+15 INT]

[+10 PER]

[+10 VIT]

[Skill: Verdant Weave — Form Tier]

[Affinity: Life Mana]

[Bloodline Fragment: Eternal Wellspring Bloodline — First Spring]

[Grade: Unreadable]

[First Spring — faster natural recovery, Life Mana generation, improved stamina and wound recovery.]

[Due to the Bloodline Fragment, there is an additional reward of +10 VIT and +30 Mana Capacity.]

[Perfected Glimpse Applicable]

Zishan froze.

His eyes moved back up and down. He did it twice.

’Wait... wait a fucking minute!’

[Yes, Dumb Host?]

’ALL OF THAT?!’

[Correct.]

’FOR ONE QUEST?!’

[The Dumb Host appears surprised by the abundance despite repeatedly demanding better rewards.]

’I WASN’T COMPLAINING! I’M JUST CHECKING!’

Then another familiar prompt appeared.

[PRECEDENCE AVAILABLE]

[Claim Rewards Before Completion?]

[YES / NO]

Zishan’s heartbeat accelerated for an entirely different reason. ’YES! OBVIOUSLY YES! WHAT KIND OF IDIOT WOULD SAY NO?!’

[The System declines to answer to avoid implicating the Dumb Host.]

’FUCK YOU! JUST GIVE THEM TO ME!’

[ADVANCE CLAIM CONFIRMED]

The effect was immediate. Mana surged through Zishan’s body so violently that he nearly staggered away from the cot.

His senses sharpened. His thoughts became clearer. Then, something warm spread beneath his ribs. It was nothing like the Ashen Banner Bloodline.

That one had felt like conflict waiting beneath his skin, responding whenever danger surrounded him.

This was different.

Warmth moved through his veins with every heartbeat, spreading through his arms, chest, neck, and fingertips until he could suddenly feel something he had never been aware of before.

Life. Life Mana!

Zishan sucked in a breath.

[First Spring of the Eternal Wellspring Bloodline Fragment synchronized.]

[Life Mana Affinity acquired.]

[Verdant Weave acquired.]

[Perfected Glimpse synchronized with Verdant Weave.]