{I am super sorry I haven't posted a chapter in a couple of days. I had a big test in one of my classes, so I had to really focus. I am going to try to write at least 2-3 chapters today. Sorry for the break again, and I will try to keep a more consistent schedule}
Nilan begins to sit himself down on the table while the doctor, Rebeca, looks at him with excitement, and she says.
"Nilan, right?"
He nods as he lays down on the table, and Rebeca begins the examination.
She walks up to the table he is on and begins to examine him all over closely.
"So Nilan, what exactly do you remember right now?"
Nilan responds.
"I woke up yesterday only knowing who Celeste and Ava were and that my dad died from the same disease.
I also know my name, but I don't remember any specific events from the past, like getting this disease, for instance."
Rebeca responds.
"In the grand scheme of things, only losing your memories is incredibly lucky after making it through the Devourer.
But other than that, you haven't been feeling any other negative effects like loss of limb functions or skin peeling off?"
Nilan shakes his head and responds.
"No...Well, actually, I remember my skin was peeling off, but it just suddenly healed when I woke up yesterday."
Rebeca freezes, taken aback by what Nilan just said.
"So you are telling me that your skin just fully healed overnight? Interesting.
In order for that to happen, one would need to use some high-level magic, which I know none of you can use.
Was there anyone else who came into the house to see Nilan in the past couple of days?"
Nilan looks over to Celeste and Ava curiously.
Celeste and Ava look at each other with confused faces, and then Celeste responds to Rebeca's question.
"No, we have been alone since he came down with the sickness."
Ava then cuts in.
"I am the only one who knows healing magic.
That night, I was using it to keep him stable, but I was barely even accomplishing that.
Once he did finally stabilize, we came here to get mana potions, and when we arrived back at home, Nilan was up walking around fully healed."
Rebeca is now holding her chin as she is taking in this information.
After a minute, she speaks.
"Well, I know it is impossible for someone to randomly come to your house to heal this boy and leave with nothing.
After examining you, I did see that you are in perfect health, so you all should have no future worries now."
Celeste and Ava sigh in relief as if a huge weight has been lifted from them.
Rebeca then continues.
"I did notice something weird, though.
The way your body is structured doesn't make sense.
I can tell you are somewhere around level 1-3 in strength, yet you have fully built mana channels.
This shouldn't be possible unless you were at level 10 and above since, after your first breakthrough, you are able to use mana.
Even if someone took your levels through those dark means setting you this low should have collapsed those channels and crippled them, making it impossible to have authority over mana again."
Celeste, Ava, and Nilan look at each other with worried and confused faces as Nilan speaks.
"You said I was in perfect health, though...Right?"
As Rebeca looks at Nilan, it is obvious she is still lost in thought as she responds.
"Yes, I did say that, and yes, you are completely fine, but that is why I'm so stumped because nothing about this makes sense.
Funny enough, the only thing that would be able to give us a real answer is you, but since you lost your memories, we can now only speculate."
Rebeca rubs her chin for a while, then nods her head as she speaks.
"I have decided. With your permission, Nilan, I would like to continue to observe you.
I would like to be your PERSONAL doctor free of charge.
I have a feeling if you were to let someone else know about this situation, they might dissect you on the spot."
Nilan turns over to Celeste and Ava, looking for their opinion.
He sees dumbfounded looks on both of their faces as Celeste responds.
"Why would you do something so risky, even going so far as to offer your services for free? Is there a catch?"
Nilan, now confused about what is going on, looks back at Rebeca as she responds.
"I have a feeling I am going to get a chance to learn something that no money in the world could buy.
I know the risks of doing this, but I just simply can't pass up this opportunity.
Don't worry. I will still be as secretive as possible, and if things go south, I will take the full fall for it."
Nilan, now feeling like he is missing something really important, asks.
"Excuse my ignorance, but what is so risky about having me as your patient?"
Rebeca smiles at Nilan and responds.
"Right, you don't remember anything. Let me explain.
In this world, the strong view themselves as a superior race.
Anyone who is high enough level not to be affected by the Devourer is considered to be a 'true' Human.
Most humans are what they refer to as 'flawed' humans as they believe the Devourer is meant to cleanse the unworthy and impure.
As such, research and treatment related to a 'flawed' human or the Devourer is strictly forbidden, leading to the execution of the human being treated as well as the doctor treating them.
The flawed are used and treated as mere slaves or laborers and are disposed of when not needed.
There are people who disagree with this view and try to combat this by helping the flawed in secret.
To combat this problem, any potential doctor is to register themselves to the government and live in 'pureblood' zones."
"Doctors are priceless to the 'true' humans as not many have the ability to heal more than minor injuries.
Doctors can replace limbs if needed and expand one's limit through manipulation of one's body.
Any Doctor not in the 'pureblood' zone is hunted and killed.
I have been living here as a 'dead' person for two years now, and if they were to find out that I am here, they would not only kill me but would purge this whole village, although I am confident that I can make sure that won't happen."
Nilan, now looking deep in thought as he absorbs this information, looks at Rebeca and asks.
"If they think the Devourer is meant to cleanse the Flawed, then why does it only affect men?"
Rebeca smiles, and she responds.
"To limit their reproduction to an extent.
You see, my personal view and the reason I left to research the Devourer is that I believe that it is not a natural disease.
Looking at what it does and how it targets people makes me think it was planned.
The Pures are relatively rare and, as such, are outnumbered by the Flawed by a decent number.
Not to be vulgar, but as you may know, one man can breed with multiple women, so if you wish to have a force of people who can't fight back while making their numbers not overwhelming, the best thing is to control the number of men that can reproduce.
So since the Devourer only targets men who are weak, that leaves a larger number of women that the powerful men can reproduce with, increasing the chances of another Pure to be born while also letting some other extra number of women reproduce with Flawed men, allowing for the cycle to continue.
The Devourer is a strange disease that only acts in bursts as a sort of culling to keep the numbers manageable."
Celeste, Ava, and Nilan look at each other, dumbfounded at the theory Rebeca proposed to them.
Rebeca then shakes her head and says.
"Sorry for going off on a tangent. Also, it is very important you don't tell anyone what I said here today.
Anyways, after hearing how much I'm sticking out my neck for you, are you willing to be my personal patient?"
As Nilan goes to respond, a notification pops up in front of him.
[Corruption(Rebeca): The user has hit the threshold for corruption to begin. After taking into account the opinion of the target to the user, the stat has been set to 25%]
'Shit, I completely forgot that was a thing, although it shouldn't cause too many problems...I hope'
Nilan then looks at Rebeca in the eyes and says.
"Sure, and thank you for doing this all for me and my family."
Rebeca then laughs as she says.
"Ha, we still have a long road ahead, so save the thanks for later.
Now, let's talk about what I need you to do."
Nilan, now wondering if he just opened a can of worms, looks at Rebeca with some worry.
[Quest: Take Over The World]