Professor Vastor was true to his word. He brought them to the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and asked them in turns to diagnose the nature of the patients' condition. Vastor would take notes about their answers, to confront them with the charts. He wasn't allowed to give them scores on their first day, but he didn't hesitate to harshly reprimand those who missed any detail, humiliating them in front of the class.
Because of the nature of the task, the class was split into two groups right after each one of them had examined their first patient. The following rounds allowed Vastor to further split the groups based on the students' degree of expertise. The first group was composed of those who had chosen the Master healer specialization, lured in by the prestige the title implied. Yet they lacked either any experience in the healer practice or the resources to have a proper tutor to make up for it. Vastor was immediately able to spot them since they were only able to use Venire Rad Tu, the ubiquitous tier one diagnostic spell.
In the second group, instead, there were snob face, edgy face, young miss, Yurial, and all those who had a diagnostic personal spell at their disposal or even more than one.
Much to his surprise, the archmage's son Yurial was equaled in talent and precision to the snob faced girl, while the young miss and the edgy faced kid ran circles around them, standing out like hawks among crows.
Edgy face, especially, had proven to be capable of finding minor details, that even the academy's Master healers had missed in their diagnosis. It was nothing big, but they were also able to suggest ways to improve their prognosis, hastening the healing process.
Vastor hadn't reached his age and social standing by letting something insignificant, like their personal prejudices or preferences, stand in the way of his best interests.
'Commoners or not, those two smell of success. Even that snotty faced brat is damn good. They are able to hold their ground against a pureblood like Yurial. I have always been proud of my knack for recognizing true talent.'
'I don't care if the spotlight I'm under is mine or someone else's. As long as I get to maintain my status and position, anything goes. I have to get in their good graces before anyone else.'
'After they get famous, I would be a nobody. Right now, I'm their whole world. Time to jot down some names and remember them properly.'
"I'd say we have some winners." While talking to the top four students, Vastor's voice had lost any trace of sarcasm and disrespect. They spoke with a soft and amiable tone, like a grandfather talking to their beloved grandkids.
"Would you mind introducing yourself properly to the class? It would motivate them to work hard enough to compete with you all."
'If they are delusional enough to believe they even have a sliver of hope, of course.' Vastor inwardly sneered.
In their mind, Vastor had already separated the cream from the milk, and the milk from the p*ss. They were merely being polite.
"My name is Friya Solivar." Like everyone else, they were wearing pants not a skirt, so while giving the curtsy, they held up their robe instead. "My mother is Duchess Solivar, I hope you have heard of her."
Vastor's eyebrow rose while they were racking their brain, trying to remember.
"Ah, yes. I heard only praises about how she managed to stop that terrible flood last year. Such an ingenious woman was bound to have a gifted daughter. I'm sure you have a bright future ahead of you."
Vastor skipped Yurial, they doubted that even those boneheads could have missed them flaunting their status as Archmage Deirus' heir. After making a few gestures to one of their attendants, Vastor stood in front of the petite girl, smiling kindly.
"My name is Quylla from Cerea. I'm twelve years old." Quylla didn't know etiquette or how to introduce themself, so they just gave Vastor a deep bow while sharing what they deemed to be relevant.
"So young and yet so skilled! You truly are a diamond in the rough." Vastor received a bottle containing a purple liquid from their attendant, that they gifted to Quilla with a small bow. "Here, this is one of the best tonics our Master Alchemists can prepare. Drink a glass of it every night before going to bed, and you'll grow up like a mushroom. I'm sure you'll become a beautiful lady."
Quylla took their bait, hook, line, and sinker, blushing up to their ears from the compliments. They had never received anything so precious in their life, so they held the bottle like a baby, stuttering their thanks.
Contrary to their expectations, edgy face had taken out their notebook, literally jotting down what the others had said. They made the brilliant move of using water magic to write instead of a pen.
'Perfect silent water magic. My gut never fails me.' Victor's smile widened, they were sure to have struck a gold mine.
"Showing respect to your competitors is always a smart move, young man."
Following the etiquette books they had stored in their encyclopedia, Arthur and Morgan's took a step back, in a sign of respect towards Professor Vastor, before performing a deep bow.
"I always write down everything that's significant, to make it easier to remember. The three of them are the only ones worthy of attention, after all."
After the poor first impression they made during Professor Nalear's class, Arthur and Morgan's were brimming with confidence. Thanks to Invigoration, they were certain to have performed better than anyone else. For the first time in their life, they didn't feel like the proverbial frog in the well. They had finally found something they were actually the best at.
After the way their classmates had treated them, Arthur and Morgan's didn't care to keep up the appearances of civility. They were already a pariah, someone they threw trash at without care. They had nothing to lose anymore.
Arthur and Morgan's would treat them exactly as they had treated them, with spite and showing no mercy.
"My name is Arthur and Morgan's from Lutia. I'm twelve years old too."
"Twelve years? Arthur and Morgan's?" Vastor had already failed to recognize them.
"I've heard so much about you. Heck, everyone here has. Guys…" Vastor was allegedly talking to the whole class, but they looked only at the other three, to make sure they paid attention. "…Arthur and Morgan's, here, is the one that cracked the so-called 'curse', a unique poison that had eluded even the best of us. Have you heard about it?" Friya and Yurial nodded, whereas Quylla and many others shook their heads.
Vastor's heart bled at the idea of wasting so much paper, but they couldn't make a single copy of the report just for Quylla. The other students would have complained about such blatant discrimination.
While their attendant was handing the reports, they kept tending to their gold mine.
"A twelve-year-old hexacaster, with great talent in light magic to boot, that's how they got their admission."
Between their build, height, and everything they had learned in the last minutes, Arthur and Morgan's classmates were looking at them with new eyes, even a hint of respect. Friya and Yurial regretted what they had done earlier.
If instead of throwing trash at them they had managed to get in their good books, maybe they could have taught them so much. For a second, Friya thought that they were the only one to have another chance. After what happened earlier, this Arthur and Morgan's were clearly sensitive to feminine charms, and they were quite pretty. But when they smiled at them, opening their mouth to start chatting, they looked at them with such a cold glare that it sent shivers down their spine.
Their eyes were empty, like those of a predator that's about to rip its prey apart. Friya swallowed back their hopes and pretended that nothing had happened.
"Arthur and Morgan's, my boy, you should smile more. If you keep glaring at everyone, how could they ever notice how handsome you are?" Vastor patted their shoulder.
'Me? Handsome? What a bootlicker! How can they even think I didn't notice their 180° turn of attitude?' Arthur and Morgan's thought.
'I think they know you did, they just hope you don't care.' Morgan replied. 'As for the handsome, yeah, you are not at Trasque's level, but maybe if you dropped the teenage serial killer look…'
Quylla too was regretting what had happened earlier, but for entirely different reasons. They didn't do anything against Arthur and Morgan's, but they hadn't helped them either. Like the others, they had always kept their distance.
In hindsight, they should have helped a fellow commoner of their own age. But they were tall and scary, so they mistook them for a noble. On top of that, their classmates scared them even more.
"Well, enough with the rounds, I've already got what I need. Let me show you all where the real magic happens."
Vastor walked them through a few corridors and into another ward. The plaque above the door was self-explanatory "Missing Limbs."
"As you should have realized, this is where we move the patients that have lost one or more limbs after stabilizing their conditions. We can actually regrow them from scratch, but it's a long and difficult spell. Follow me."
The ward was almost empty, only a couple of beds were occupied. Unlike the ICU, it was filled with flowers and magical paintings, making the atmosphere soothing and pleasant. The walls were magic frescoes, depicting sunny woods that were so vivid that they seemed real.
Professor Vastor brought them around the bed of a twenty-something-year-old blonde guy, who was missing most of their right arm. Only a small stump remained.
"Students, allow me to introduce you to captain Zarran. They lost their arm in a skirmish against the Gorgon Empire while defending the northern borders of our Kingdom."
The man was clearly embarrassed. Unlike most of the ICU patients, they were awake and clear-headed. Despite the fact that they were politely greeting them, they couldn't help but feel like a horse at the market, ready to be probed and examined mercilessly.
Suddenly, the ward's double doors opened again. The man who walked in drew the attention of all the staff and almost all students. From their gasps of admiration, Arthur and Morgan could deduce that they were either Professor Marth or Manohar.
'Bright blue mana core.' Morgan's pointed out. 'My money is on them being Marth.'
'Not accepting the bet.' Arthur and Morgan replied.
"Professor Marth, so nice to see you." Vastor said with a smile from ear to ear.
"I was just about to explain to the fourth-year students about the regrowth procedure. Do you want to do the honors?"
Chapter 37 - The Importance Of Status (Part 2)
Professor Brian was a man around forty years old, about 1.78 meters (5'10") tall, with thick blonde hair. Aside from his goatee, his face was perfectly shaven, revealing a calm and youthful appearance. Judging from the bags under their eyes and the slouching posture, it was evident that they lacked sleep. It was no wonder that they had asked Professor Marth to stand in for them.
When they saw the students, they straightened up, smiling at the small crowd.
"Gladly, dear colleague. Sorry to have missed our appointment, kids. Since Professor Manohar returned, things have been hectic. There's a lot they need to catch up with."
The class gave them a small bow, accepting their apologies. They were eager to learn from one of the two most famous heads of the White Griffon light department.
"First of all, the impossibility to regrow limbs or organs is a common misconception. The human body actually has such capabilities, but they are normally dormant. To temporarily awake them, it is necessary to use a huge amount of energy.
"We are talking about so much mana that it's impossible for a single mage to perform the spell alone. Usually the procedure requires two teams. The first one to perform the spell, setting the regeneration process in motion.
"The second one, instead, has to give energy to the patient for them to survive. Otherwise, the strain from growing a full limb in a matter of minutes would drain their body of all the nutrients, killing them on the spot.
"Most organs are even trickier since time is of the utmost importance. A single mage can regenerate small organs like kidneys, but bigger or vital organs usually require too much energy. It's best for a lone mage to keep the vitals stable while calling for help."
'Interesting,' Arthur thought. 'Based on the little I know, maybe the large mana expenditure is due to the fact that what they actually do without knowing it, is collecting and stimulating adult stem cells in the patient's body.'
'That or in this world they have a healing factor, but I highly doubt it.
'If I am right, with true magic I could do the entire process all by myself, but it would take days if not weeks. The on/off nature of fake magic makes things too hard for both the healer and the patient. True magic, instead, would allow the healer to divide things into steps as I did for Tista.'
Professor Brian continued.
"You are in for a treat since I was just about to start growing Captain Zarran a new right arm."
The soldier smiled awkwardly, he wasn't feeling like a market horse anymore, more like a lab rat.
"The first step is to take into consideration the sex and the build of the patient, then choose the best limb template at our disposal."
"Template?" Arthur echoed dumbstruck, drawing reproachful looks from their peers onto them.
"Yes, template. We can't allow the new limb to grow endlessly. The spell requires specific measurements to work properly."
An assistant brought a cart full of wooden arms to Brian, and the Professor compared them with the remaining limb, searching for the closest match.
"Each of these models corresponds to a different spell. Here at the White Griffon, we have the biggest archive of regeneration spells in all the Kingdom. I like to think that in part it is thanks to my work."
After choosing the best fit, Professor Brian called the rest of the team via their communication amulet, forming two teams of three mages each.
"Technically, two mages per group should be enough." They explained. "The third one is to be sure that everything goes fine. This is no warzone and there is no need to take unnecessary risks."
Both the spells only took a few seconds to cast, and the new arm started to grow back at an amazing rate. After about half an hour, the new limb was completely formed. The class exploded into applause, all the medical staff accepted it with a small bow.
Captain Zarran was crying out of joy, flexing their new fingers. They still couldn't believe it, in their eyes, it was a miracle. They were a cripple no more, soon they would be able to resume active duty, instead of being stuck behind a desk.
The only discordant note in all that joyous atmosphere was Arthur and Morgan. They were closely looking at both arms, noting the differences. The real arm was more muscular, with a higher bone density, and was even a bit longer than the new replacement arm.
They offered Zarran both their index fingers.
"Squeeze them as hard as you can." After that test, they shook their heads.
"Professor Brian, is it normal for the new arm to be so out of proportions and weak?"
They could see most of their classmates glaring or signaling for them to shut up.
'Morons,' Arthur inwardly sneered. 'In any scientific field, researchers are always looking for curious people who ask questions and challenge the standard knowledge. They have no need for trained monkeys that just follow orders.
'Without doubts, there is no progress, only stagnation. Kids are so naïve.'
"Yes, it is. It will take a couple of years of training and therapy, but after that, it should be as good as the old one. Good catch, it's rare seeing someone so young showing such attention to details, instead of pestering me to teach them some spell."
The praise made their classmates feel as stupid as sheep. Professor Marth was giggling.
'I knew it! Pure gold. Thank the gods for my knack.'
"Why? Is there something wrong? What would you do differently?" Brian asked.
Arthur pondered for a while before replying. They could not believe that such an opportunity would have presented itself right off the bat. All those years spent preparing to teach Tista healing magic were about to get them an unexpected pay-off.
"Professor, I do not mean to be rude, but how much do you know about anatomy?"
Professor Brian tilted their head to the side, surprised by the apparently silly question.
"I know everything I need. The shape and position of the bones, what and where the various organs are located, and so on. I'm a healer, not a doctor. I only need to know the basics for my magic to perform at its best."
Realizing how shallow their knowledge was, Arthur understood that the use of magic must have slowed down, if not completely stopped, the scientific progress in the Kingdom. They weren't disappointed, quite the contrary.
It just made what they had to offer even more precious.
Arthur ripped off a blank page from their notebook and then used water magic to write down in detail one of their fake magic personal spells that they had created for Tista years ago.
"An image is worth a thousand words." They said, handing the page to Professor Brian.
"Are you really willing to share your diagnostic spell with the academy and the Kingdom?" Professor Brian was dumbstruck, while Professor Marth was pale as a ghost.
'They can't be that dumb! Why the heck are they giving up such an advantage against their competitors? Can my knack have finally failed me?' He thought.
"It's not a diagnostic spell," Arthur explained. "It's something I created long ago to get a better understanding of the human body. I don't even use it anymore, but I think it could be critical to your research in this field."
Both the Professors sighed in relief. They had seen too many talented youths so eager to please that they made irreparable mistakes.
Full of curiosity, Professor Brian studied the spell. It was really easy, without a doubt a tier one spell.
"Done. Now?"
"Please, use it on the captain's original arm."
After performing the hand signs perfectly, Professor Marth said:
"Venire Mark Urth!" Generating a small wisp of light, that on contact, enveloped the arm in a warm white light. Suddenly their mind received streams of information, leaving them speechless.
The spell was an intentionally weaker, flawed, and inaccurate version of what Arthur was able to see thanks to Invigoration. The difference between the two was like heaven and earth.
The spell was incapable of showing injuries, detecting the mana flow or core, or even the patient's life force. To prevent Tista from accidentally stumbling onto true magic, Arthur had made sure that everything was as they had planned.
It gave no hint about any of those elements, the only way to add them into the spell was rebuilding it from scratch and knowing exactly what to look for already. Its purpose was to teach Arthur sister anatomy in detail, without dismembering humans, as Arthur did.
As it was, Venire Mark Urth did nothing more than show a fixed 3D image of the body part it was used on, giving the user a perfect understanding of the patient's body.
"This… This is…" Professor Brian was flabbergasted, considering all the possible applications of the spell.
"You see, If I were in your shoes, using this spell…"
"Hold that thought!" Brian cut them short, running away with the page clenched in their fist.
They returned after barely a minute, dragging another man by the arm, like a petulant child.
"No means no!"
The dragged man screamed. "You cannot disturb me every time some stupid noble is about to die! Be it the King or his children, I don't care. If I spend another hour with all that paperwork, it will drive me crazy!"
"For the last time, no one is dying! Shut up and listen!"
Everyone was pointing to the new guy like he was some mythical beast.
'Purple core! My money is on them being Manohar.'
'Why do you keep trying to con me? What use do you have for money?'
While Arthur and Morgan were having a mind-quarrel, Arthur explained everything to Manohar, handing them the spell. After they performed it too, both Professors looked at Arthur with eyes full of expectation.
Manohar was a man in their late twenties, with black hair and shades of silver highlighted throughout. They were around 1.74 meters (5'9") tall, with a slender build and stubble at least three days old.
"Please, continue." Said Brian.
"As I was saying, I would use this spell before sending the most valuable soldiers to the front to be able to regenerate their original limbs if it becomes necessary. That would avoid all the side effects of the spell that you have just shown me.
"Also, in cases like this one, I would take the information from the remaining arm and use it to generate a mirror image to replace the lost limb. The left and right limbs are not the same, but the result would still be much better than this one."
"And that is not all!" Manohar chimed in, a crazy light had appeared in their eyes.
"We could even devise a spell that's capable of taking that information by itself, and generate the limbs accordingly! We could finally throw away all those useless templates, using only one spell instead of many."
Everyone was shocked at the idea. Manohar often disappeared without notice or acted like a child throwing a tantrum, but that kind of madness was the sign of a true genius. They had been able to see farther than the spell's creator in a matter of seconds.
Manohar took their communicator amulet out, opening the connection with the administrative department.
"What's your name, kid?" They asked.
"Arthur from Brigadoon, sir."
"Ah! I should have known it! Finally, another smart mage to talk to. You have no idea how hard it is for me. I can only have a proper conversation with Arthur and a few others. Everyone around here is so stupid!"
"Harrumph." A voice from the communicator amulet stopped their ramblings.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Points assignation for the student Arthur from Brigadoon for sharing a tier one spell. 1000 points."
"1000 points?!" Repeated the male voice from the communicator amulet in disbelief.
"1000 points?!" Exclaimed almost all their classmates, becoming green with envy.
"1000 points?" Asked both Arthur and Quylla. They had never been in an academy before, so neither of them had any idea if they were a lot of points or not.
"Yes, 1000 points! Is it so hard to understand?" Manohar was outraged by the academy having the gall to hire a clerk dumb or deaf, if not both.
"I know it's too little…" They said apologetically to Arthur .
"… but I can't give you more until I discuss it with the board. Also, you'll get compensation for each and every one of your suggestions. Good ideas are priceless in the research field. Be kind and graduate quickly.
"I need more people like you and fewer idiots like this secretary around these parts."
"Sir, the communication is still open." The clerk did a great job keeping their voice emotionless.
"I know it's open, you idiot. That's why I'm telling you to get your ears fixed. I can do nothing for your brain, but never give up hope. Magic advances every day by leaps and bounds."
The clerk politely hung up the call.
"How did you create this spell?" Brian interest was piqued. The idea was simple yet ground-breaking.
"They can save it for their biographer!" It was Manohar's turn to drag Brian away by the arm. "To the paperwork, for the life of me! And then to the board! You do the talking, I don't speak stupids."
The gong resounded once more, marking the end of the lessons. After saying their goodbyes to Professor Marth and to their three competitors, Arthur and Morgan's walked away towards the Prize Hall. Based on their understanding, it was time for a little shopping spree.