Truen didn't know how long he was knocked out for in the space-time dimension but it couldn't be that long since time flowed very differently.
Merlin hovered over his unconscious apprentice and shook his head. He might have gone a little too far, pushing Truen to his limits when he was already in a bad shape. The Sage God only wished that he hadn't broken his student with the previous stunt.
When the wood elf came to, Merlin felt slightly apologetic for going too far. However, he couldn't lower his pride to apologise so he settled for giving Truen time to rest. Once the wood elf was well rested, Merlin started his lecture.
"How do you evaluate your performance earlier?"
Truen was silent. He was ashamed at how quick it ended. Merlin was probably disappointed in him and Truen had no words for it. The wood elf slowly got up and sat on his knees with his head hung low in repentance.
Merlin felt the wood elf's behaviour prodding at his conscious. He was a terrible teacher. No wonder none of his previous students turned out to be any good. Truen was a rare gem and he was wasted on Merlin. However, the wizard was determined to make up for his mistakes. He was going to share with Truen about the secrets of his research.
"Look up," he commanded. "That magic of mine is no ordinary spell. In fact, you did great in terms of raw power and control. Magic is about creativity. With greater understanding, you can come to create unique spells that only you can cast. Cyclone storm is one of the examples created by me. I won't be telling you what to create but for a month, you will experiment in this dream dimension. By the end of the month, I want you to show me your signature spells before we move from there. Any questions?"
Truen blinked. Create spells? He hasn't completed the library yet!
"Only elemental spells. The rest are slightly trickier so I'll have you wait for a moment. Surely you can manage?"
"Sorry, sir. I'm not sure what you mean. Spells can be created?"
Merlin blinked. Was it not covered in the books Truen read?
"Did you not read about the theory of fusion spells?"
The wood elf frowned. He was sure he read that book. However, nothing was mentioned about spell creation or how that was considered elemental magic. Truen thought that nature magic was a class of its own. Hence, the more powerful races with more magic affinities were considered superior mages.
"I did. However, it was merely a theory explanation about how the elements affected each other from an alchemist's point of view. Nothing could be ascertained because from third-tier fusion spells and up, not many could test his hypothesis to confirm that it was true. No living creature has magical affinity with all six elements. Also, the book suggested other elements that may exist but hasn't been discovered or recorded. It's a book with a lot of uncertainties and mostly, opinions by the author."
Merlin stroked his beard. He must have remembered it wrong. The book was pulled out from the ruins of an old kingdom that had fallen to ruins after the age of magicians. It was one of the books Merlin used to progress in his research. Perhaps his knowledge far surpassed that book.
"I must have been mistaken. In any case, you can disregard your first concern. It is true that magical affinity for all elements does not appear in normal people. However, you're not normal. As a living wood spirit, you are capable of controlling any elemental magic - a product of Gaia herself. As for the second hypothesis about other elements than the six discovered, I cannot say for certain that they exist. However, my research points to me that the possibility is there. I wish that you will approach this lesson with an open mind. Do not limit your abilities. As a living wood spirit, mana regeneration is not a problem for you. You can draw mana from the planet itself without going through the normal process. The dream space replicates it perfectly. However, please bear in mind that the mana you can draw is limited to the terrain you are in."
The wizard materialised a book in his hand and passed it to the wood elf who accepted it gracefully.
"This is a grimoire. It's not an original copy but it contains all the information you need to know about advanced fusion magic. What have you read about magic mediums?"
Truen thought for a while, recalling what he could.
"I've read a little from different archives. Many races who are not born gifted in magic usually use mediums to better channel their mana in the form of tools, words or even spell circles. This is to increase their maximum potential and allow them to use magic greater than their capability or save casting time during emergencies. However, none of the books I've read covered the reason for the mediums or how they were created. Someone tried to decipher them but it's still unclear to me how it was deciphered. There wasn't a distinct method of deciphering the methods used which leads me to think that the discoveries made were accidental."
Merlin chuckled. "Well, the library is very old. I guess it's high time I updated it. In any case, you're half right there. The author of that book was compiling things he heard without understanding. His conclusions were baseless and made no sense."
Mentally, Truen felt drained. How many more surprises does Merlin have for him?
"Mediums are used by those with lesser magical affinity to boost their power. Think of it as a cripple with their crutch. It allows them to move faster and more freely. However, the crutch wasn't made by these cripples. It was lent by the stronger beings who had too much magic to spare. Many of them were demons, angels, dragons and some even gods. These powerful beings collected payment from the users of their medium in the form of a sacrifice as you might have seen in books. Angels demand worship and prayers hence the chanting. Demons required enslaved souls hence the grimoire and magic circles. Dragons required carnage hence the transformed physical abilities of their mage warriors. Gods wanted different things all the time so it's not set in stone. Nevertheless, mediums can be created. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the power."
Truen looked at the fake grimoire. "Are you saying that cyclone storm was powered by a medium?"
The wizard grinned. "You pick up fast. That grimoire contains information about that spell. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to create something on your own. Of course, you'll first have to decide what kind of medium works best in your favour. Also, as a bonus tip, I did not make a contract with hell when I wrote that grimoire. I simply learnt from the ways of the devils and created my own."
Truen blinked. Merlin must have made a huge sacrifice in order to do that. Even in the fake grimoire, the wood elf could sense the unusual aura coming from it. What did Merlin do to become such a monster? Then again, all Gods are monsters in their own league Merlin was simply one in the field of magic.
"I understand. I will work hard to develop something I can call my own."
Satisfied, the wizard prepared to leave. However, his parting words made Truen feel pressured once more.
"I look forward to the day you can surpass me, apprentice."
***
"Easy now," Hua Tuo coaxed.
They were leaving for the village in two weeks and Zero was feeling the stress as he poured mana into the dead fish. The physician worked him hard and Zero felt fatigued even if he was in good physical condition.
Hua Tuo's requirement was simple. Healing magic was about pouring the magic of life into a living creature. They used mana from three parties to recover a wound. The first was from the injured party, the second from the environment and the third from the caster. In Zero's case, he could only pull on mana from the environment since he had none to speak of and his patient was dead. Hua Tuo assured him that healing magic can still be used on dead creatures as long as the spirit is still in the body but Zero didn't believe him until the doctor demonstrated. It was mana consuming but possible.
"Remember your priorities and focus! The heart is stopping again!"
When Hua Tuo snapped at him, Zero growled. Hua Tuo was a slave driver. Usually, a teacher taught their students from the basics and progressed from there gradually increasing the difficulty. Zero felt as if Hua Tuo had thrown him into a pit of wolves just when he figured out how to hold a sword. The physician was merciless!
After cramming all the knowledge about how a body worked, Hua Tuo immediately presented the task to Zero. If it was merely about healing wounds, Zero could understand. However, Hua Tuo demanded that Zero succeeded in the most difficult healing magic - revival magic. In order to succeed, Zero has to meet all three difficult requirements and the chance of his failure was almost a hundred percent.
1. The target must be revived within three minutes after death or it is impossible once the spirit leaves.
2. All body parts must be intact upon revival or the revived target will still die.
3. Only the mana of the environment can be used.
Hua Tuo caught the fishes and Zero had to revive them. The pile of separated fish heads from their bodies were beginning to make Zero sick. Although he liked eating fish, thinking about their cruel deaths and the additional pain they had to suffer when Zero failed to revive them fully made the young boy sick.
"Come on... come on! Work!"
This was the sixteenth fish that morning and Zero felt sweat fall from his brows. It was more tiring than the morning exercises.
The instructions were simple.
1. First, stimulate the flow of blood to get the heart working.
2. Next, shock the brain into awakening.
3. Aid the brain into recovering organs.
4. Lastly, put the damaged body parts together to accelerate cell regeneration.
Zero continued to fail at step three. Stimulating the flow of blood was simple water magic. Hua Tuo covered the basics for six elements and the concept of fusion magic. Zero had no troubles understanding which element should be used at which stage of recovery. However, he kept failing at the multitasking part when it came to the third step. There were several major organs that must be revived at the same time and Zero couldn't leave one when it was up to work on another. They failed shortly after working when mana wasn't supporting it. Even then, Zero didn't know how to work on all the important organs while attaching the head back to the body. If it were any other body part, Zero might be able to complete the mission. However, the head was something that couldn't wait to be attached after the organs were working. It had to be done at the same time or the fish would die immediately after reviving its body.
Hua Tuo was serious. He knew that he was pushing Zero very close to the edge but he wanted to test if his apprentice had what it took to become a doctor who could surpass him. Hua Tuo didn't travel. He'd seen too many deaths as a doctor in the past and did not have the strength to continue. He didn't want to have to choose who gets another chance at life and who had to leave the world early. It was the warring period when he travelled as a physician back in his old world. He fought for the lives of every patient only to have them sent out to the battlefield once more. Some came back but many didn't. Hua Tuo felt that he'd become a failure and was relieved when he finally died. Fate was an ironic thing. Hua Tuo expected to go to hell and be condemned for his sins. However, it did not happen, he was faced with a punishment worse than getting flayed for eternity lying over magma. He attained immortality as a Sage God in Medicine who oversaw illness and poisons.
Hua Tuo didn't like his gift. With the Medicine God's eye, he saw the numbers in every living creature. He saw how much longer they had left to live and it made him depressed. Just like the Moontaur girls he killed, he felt pity for them like how he felt pity for all other living creatures but seeing many deaths just made him numb to theirs. Strangely, his Medicine God's eye didn't apply to plants or immortals like Gods. Hence, Hua Tuo secluded himself in Endow Hill.
Maybe he was being too harsh on Zero. Subconsciously he might be aware of how he was trying to push his unfulfilled dreams as a human onto the fragile shoulders of this young boy. However, a part of him hoped that Zero could succeed and save the remains of his human soul. Becoming a God wasn't easy. They lived for a long time and loneliness became a common friend. Hua Tuo lived in seclusion, immersing himself in ignoring everything. It acted like anaesthetic for a good long while but occasionally that wore off too. The loneliness and hopelessness that came crashing down on him during those nights became unbearable but with Zero, Hua Tuo saw hope. He could now pass the torch to another person and rest.
Zero's hands were bloodied but his eyes remained as determined as ever. The basin of water with the decapitated fish needed a new change of water but Zero didn't care. His sole focus was on bringing back his soon-to-be lunch to life. Hua Tuo was secretly proud. Zero was a fast learner. It took Hua Tuo many years of trial an error to perfect revival healing magic. He failed at the third stage many times as well with no signs of progress. However, in just half a day, Zero was already able to reach the same level as what took the physician half a year to comprehend.
The concept was simple. The heart can be forced to start with moving blood that still carried air within the stilled blood. That gave energy to the organ to continue working. It was then the job of the healer to continue providing external mana to keep that energy going inside by reawakening the respiratory system to kickstart the brain. Once that is going, the digestive system comes next. Although Hua Tuo didn't tell Zero that specifically, Zero managed to figure it out. With enough energy to provide for the cells, regeneration could take place on its own. All Zero had to do was continuously supply mana to speed up that process and target the more critical areas - in this case, the head reattachment. It sounded simple but in reality, it was harder to perform. Different creatures had different systems and so far, no two fishes Hua Tuo caught were alike. Every species was different and he wanted to test Zero's ability to adapt. After all, healing magic shouldn't only work for one species if he wanted Zero to surpass him.
"Argh!" Zero cried in frustration as life faded from the fish's eyes. He was frustrated for sure but Hua Tuo worried more about Zero's morale.
Gently, the physician placed a hand over Zero's shoulder. The other reason why he asked the impossible was because Zero had never experienced the burden of responsibility or failure. Both were required to make a person grow wiser and stronger. Zero may be young and that was a good thing. That meant that time would heal his wounds faster and he was at a stage when his growth wasn't limited by his views.
"Let's stop here for now. Rest a while and wash up, I'll prepare lunch. You did enough for today."
As Hua Tuo tidied up, Zero took a look at the pile of corpses. He felt strange. Before this, he was alright with eating fish. In fact, he loved fish grilled over open fire with a sprinkle of salt. Now, he wasn't too sure about it. Eating the fishes he failed to save made Zero feel sick. How could Hua Tuo accept death so easily?
Zero failed them. He knew he had even if Hua Tuo praised his progress.
"No," he shook his head. "I need to become stronger faster..." he resolved.
If he was going to become a doctor, he was going to be the best. None of his patients was going to die, he wouldn't allow it. However, he knew that all living things died one day. When that time comes, Zero promised to devour them and keep them company forever, just like the fishes today.
Yes, he was someone who devoured anything and everything. Unlike others, Zero didn't have a limit. The brunet decided that he was going to put his unique skill to good use. If anyone could devour the world, it would be him. If he couldn't save them, he would absorb everything until they became one again.
Zero didn't know how true the resolution made on that day was. However, that was a story he would tell himself in the future.