(Rudeus POV)
I never had a strong interest in medicine and anatomy in my old life, especially during my shut-in years.
Having only basic knowledge of CPR and some vital organ functions, I wouldn't consider myself an expert at all. That is most definitely why I lagged behind in Healing Magic before getting my curse to boost my Magic.
Scenes from a novel or anime where some character gets notably injured or falls sick were where I most often read about medical needs scenarios. But since all that was fiction, there wasn't a 100% guarantee it was accurate in practice.
What was relatively close, however, was the degenerative stuff I looked up online whenever I felt the desire for it before my siblings caught me in the act and kicked me out after destroying the source of that information.
Yes, I deserved worse when adding the target's age. More than just the beating I received.
It's just that I'm getting another regretful moment where I realize how much of a piece of trash I was in my previous life. You know, reflecting on yourself in terribly late times. And in my case, more than a decade too late wasn't it for my reincarnation.
I know that if I had lived an honest life even after my traumatizing last school day, I might've not met Nanahoshi and her friends and reincarnated into this world, but everyone has these occasional 'what if' scenarios playing through their minds whenever they feel a lot of depression.
Hmm? Why, you might ask, do I talk about unnecessary things? And why am I not further reporting about the insect dilemma?
Remember when I said that it is a miracle that I haven't died from blood loss already?
Well, the funny thing is, people I cannot see or hear who are probably more real than I am; nothing happened after my little discovery. Or rather, it made it worse.
Turns out, discovering that you have a literal glowing heart can trigger a panic attack, raising your heartbeat and causing hyperventilation, resulting in even more blood gushing out of your open chest wound.
I'm currently lying face down in a pool of blood of both my own as well as the slave corpses like some failed mythical god summoning ritual.
The title 'The one closest to death' should be my new nickname. I even became friends with a deceased guy stuck inside a ring, whose nickname would be after the mythological god of death in my homeland. How much darker can this get?
Hmm? Why am I blabbering on inside my mind instead of figuring out how to save my second chance at life for the who knows how many times?
Don't think for even a second I haven't tried that already! I'm currently working on something I've already tried visualizing long ago. It just didn't work because of the circumstances.
I'm talking about a not-yet-developed upgraded version of [Specter Force].
What it lacked was the ability to cast Magic, which required the flow of mana that would naturally course through one's bloodstream whenever one cast a spell.
Since it needed to be very specific in a body's anatomy, I always failed at it despite the purple veins I had for guidance.
But now I was in the optimal state to turn it into reality.
Yes, being severely injured couldn't be called optimal, but it was the absence of my arms that I was talking about.
Whenever I used [Specter Force], I imagined it as an extension of my body. But right now, I need to think of it as a part of me that was always there, sort of like a literal muscle memory.
As my fading mind dreaded worsening for a second time today, I used every shred of mental strength to bring myself into a cognitive self-state to envision arms that always were there.
All that was left was the basic structure of a regular arm. Muscles, bones, and most importantly, veins and arteries. The last part was particularly difficult since I had to go by the memory of how it felt when casting a spell itself.
Once it got into shape (I hope), replicating a mana stream was the next step. Doing that while maintaining the limb was hard, but I had to take it slow. Rushing it will only cause it to break apart, ultimately wasting my mana and time at the end.
A warm sensation began to build up, converging into the familiar feeling of Healing Magic I have replicated dozens of times before for years.
As if getting out of a slump after a traumatic experience, my body began to feel the need to get back up and do anything. And that is what happened.
My eyes wide open, I looked at the ground, with my hands in the pool of blood, drops of it trickling down various places on my face.
Breathless and astonished, I looked at the result of my desperate efforts as I straightened my back.
Like a three-dimensional computer model, the arms had a transparent black outer shell with colorful veins going from the elbow to each individual fingertip.
Moving them was as normal as using my regular hands, and when I touched the left forearm with the right palm, I could feel the surfaces rubbing on each other.
I then attempted to cast [Waterball] with my left hand. And sure enough, a ball of water as big as a basketball appeared.
This is incredible. Not only did I form a connection with what I could tell was my brainstem, but I also managed to connect a mana flow from my heart. Most importantly, it's stable enough that I don't have to focus on it constantly. These are all perks [Specter Force] was lacking!
"… I'm gonna call this… [Phantom Limb]."
A technique that allows you to construct prostheses from pure mana, a perfectly functional replacement.
As much as I want to admire my newly developed Magic skill some more, I need to put it to proper use. Specifically because of the multiple signals I'm getting all around me.
Looking left, right, back, and front, I was surrounded by what is essentially an army of… zombie slaves.
Some of them were missing a limb or two and were gurgling as they crawled toward me. Those who should only have half a functional brain were walking as if paralyzed in some places. And the ones who were trapped under rubble still attempted to free themselves.
I remembered that monsters needed to be properly disposed of; otherwise, they would become undead and roam around. I should have guessed it would also be the same for people, but isn't this a bit too fast?
To further test out my arms, I began conjuring a fire strong enough to incinerate these walking corpses, bringing them all to final peace.
Applying Touki to my legs, I jumped high before launching my spell at the ground. The spell released a wave of fire that engulfed everything in close proximity.
The odor of burning flesh went everywhere, even above, making me wish I could have done something different instead.
After landing back on the ground softly with Gravity Magic and then applying Healing Magic on my legs, it confirmed that these arms work as well, if not better than my regular ones.
My Fire Magic went off smoothly, with little to no stinging coming from my stumps. Well, my Healing Magic is still a little slow, but other than that, this is an improvement.
A smile formed on my face. But not the happy kind, but the exhilarating one.
If I manage to form more than two of them whenever I miss a hand or both, I can multitask on a whole other level, particularly when wearing steampunk goggles while engineering.
But this is no time for potential cosplay ideas!
Quickly removing the tops of my already shredded clothes, I began applying another round of Healing Magic on my open wound with one hand, hopefully fixing whatever was shining in there.
With my other hand, I casted a little bit of Detoxification Magic. Not to disrespect the deceased, but I was lying in a lot of blood that wasn't mine. And with slave traders being slave traders, there was surely lacking or minimal to no medical care for some of them.
Next, I fixed my right eye. Since these arms can cast perfectly fine, I can use my Healing Magic to regain my full vision.
It was successful and finished without a problem. Well, one problem. This is my regular eye and not the Absolute Void Eye. How did that happen? Did it fall out of my head when I was sent flying by the power slash?
Argh, whatever. At least I got most of my problems fixed now.
With most things done, I looked over to the burning corpses, the smell spreading all over the place.
I grabbed onto my pendant and prayed for their forgiveness before running off to the school.
Today, I did a lot of praying. I seem to have neglected it lately, but there were many things I felt the need to do it for. Or maybe it's because of the near-death experience I had today? Could also be connected to the incident with Eris.
Anyway, I came close enough to the school grounds to pick up signals from three particularly strong monsters.
One was fighting Eris and Jino, and another one that Soldat and the rest of [Stepped Leader] and [Counter Arrow] were dealing with.
But the third one was awfully close to Sara. She seemed to gain some distance against it, but it always closed in.
This calls for the one technique I've been edging to use again for a while.
Jumping on a building's rooftop, I began preparing for a [Cumulonimbus] above the school.
Most noticed the change in the atmosphere, which was distracting, particularly the insects.
I grabbed my giant shuriken from my pocket dimension as an extra precaution. After giving away or losing the rest, it is the only weapon I have left, but it is surely useful for this.
With the help of Gravity Magic and Barrier Armament, I jumped up high through the opening, getting the prickling feeling of activating my [Thunder God Beast] technique.
With my lightning-boosted feet, I descended like a thunderbolt on the monster Sara was struggling against, crushing it into the ground.
In a split second, I caught a glimpse of it and saw that it was the muscular insect that killed Connor and Ingolt.
Slowly, the echoes of the crash were replaced by the air crackling, my figure still hidden behind the cloud of dust.
I could feel all the eyes looking in my direction, especially the insect ones with their thousands of eyes.
"Now let's give these fucking atrocities something special. Hehehe... Wow. That sure came early."
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