The next day, the work continued, with the goblins maintaining their output, progressing steadily towards their goal of upgrading their immediate territory. Even with such work, Rynne still managed to drag those under her to train a little before the day was up.
The sun crept over the horizon, bringing a cooler atmosphere, Lance stood at the edge of the training grounds, watching as Rynne barked orders at the group of goblin warriors. The air was alive with the clang of wooden weapons and the grunts of exertion as the goblins sparred, their movements a little dull, but the sharpness was still visible.
"You call that a block?" Rynne growled, glaring at a younger warrior who was still catching her breath. "If you can't stop a wooden spear, how do you expect to stop a real one?"
The goblin gulped and nodded, resuming her stance.
Lance smiled faintly, 'man she's tough.' He thought to himself.
He turned to leave, but a sudden, sharp pain shot through his chest, forcing him to his knees.
"Lance!" Rynne's voice cut through the din as she rushed to his side, prompting the others around to look over with concerned and shocked faces, some even rushing towards him.
"I'm fine," Lance managed, though his vision swam.
The pain intensified, as a searing heat that seemed to pulse from within him burned his every essence. Then, just as quickly as it had started, it was gone, replaced by a strange warmth that spread through his body.
"What… just happened?" Lance muttered, clutching his chest.
Lia appeared moments later, her expression calm but concerned. "You just went through an awakening," she said, her sharp yellow eyes studying him while she did some checks on his body, though, nothing much.
"As in some kind of ability? Like magic?" Lance asked, his voice hoarse.
Lia nodded. "Most likely. Every being in this world has the potential for it. Some just take longer to awaken, while others never do."
Lance stumbled to his feet, leaning heavily on Rynne for support, Lia helping him up by his other side. "Great. What is it? Can I throw fireballs or summon storms now? Perhaps, even fly?"
"I wouldn't count on that," Rynne said, smirking. "You're more the strategy type."
Lance laughed weakly. "We can never tell until I figure it out."
As he regained his balance, he extended his hand instinctively, curious about what his newfound power might be. To his surprise, a faint golden glow enveloped his palm. The warmth from earlier surged outward a few inches, and to Rynne's arm, where a small bruise from sparring had darkened her green skin.
To everyone's surprise, the bruise vanished instantly, leaving behind no sign of it ever existing!
"What…?!" Rynne stared at her arm, wide-eyed.
Lance blinked. "Did I just… heal you? Is my special skill a healing skill?!" He 'almost' panicked as he stared at his faintly glowing palm in disbelieve, the concept not yet sunken in.
Word spread quickly through the camp: Lance had awakened a healing skill. The goblins crowded around him, their expressions a mix of awe and curiosity.
Lance, being a leader who wanted to lead his people not by brains alone, but by might, felt whatever pride and ego he had in him sink into a bottomless abyss as everyone stared at him.
After at least two minutes, he was finally able to bring his head up to look at his people, expecting disappointment as he pictured it in his mind, but instead, what he saw was pure fascination and happiness. This gave him a little bit of hope momentarily.
"It's not much," Lance said, feeling the weight of their stares. "I mean, it's useful, but it's not exactly game-changing or anything." He said. If it could be portrayed to the goblins how he felt in his mind, countless beads of sweat would be flowing down his body with his expression mirroring that of a malnourished and dead fish.
"Not much?" Mira stepped forward, her emerald eyes wide with excitement. "Lance, this could save lives. Healing magic is rare, but not only that, one that is as powerful as yours… this, this is rarely ever seen!" Mira said, her voice shaking with escitement, gradually drawing Lance out of his own misery.
Kaeli crossed her arms, her expression skeptical. "How powerful are we talking, really?"
Mira glanced at Rynne, who was grinning looking at Lance, possibly, one of the only ones who truly understood how he was feeling. "It's no joke. That bruise Rynne had was gone in an instant, like it was never there. Sure, it was a relatively small bruise, but look at her skin! It's practically glowing! Normal healing magic doesn't achieve something like that!"
Lia nodded thoughtfully. "If it is as potent as it seems, it could be a turning point for us. Especially with the warriors."
'Wow, really? It's that awesome? Did I just hit a jackpot with some S rank skill? Or some very powerful A rank skill?' Lance wondered, his sense of defeat almost gone.
"Um, hey, Lia, how many times can one person awaken exactly, you know, magic?" Lance asked with a skeptical look on his face, almost not wanting to hear the answer.
"I've never heard of anyone who awakens more than once, but I think it is not exactly impossible." She said, thoughtfully.
Well, it was just as he expected, but it still hurt to hear.
"Wow, our chief is so amazing, isn't he? He has awakened a very powerful magical ability." Kaeli said with a grin on her face. Following her remark, the rest of the goblins cheered, their celebratory voices carrying on for at least half a minute.
After much of the initial celebration was done, which Lance had recovered through, he met with the chiefs who were very curious to know more about this new ability of his.
"According to what I know, from now on, it will be possible for you to learn other magic spells after awakening. The only catch is that your proficiency will lie mostly in the path you awaken, in your case, healing." Lia explained.
Lance had already gone over it now, though, it still hurt a little bit to hear. "That's not too bad I guess, I should spend more time with Mira then." Lance said, bringing a bog warm smile to Mira's face.
"You can always spend as much time as you want with me!" She said excitedly, certain areas of her figure moving as she almost bounced from her seated position.
"Of course." Lance said, with a smile on his face, resisting the urge to look and satisfy his eyes in the moment.
"Well, that doesn't mean you can't grow the capabilities of your physical body. You actually possess quite the potential from what I've seen. You're still far from my level or even Rikka, but we're the best the tribe has in that regards. As it is now, you're almost comparable to the goblin warriors I train everyday, and they've been practicing and training longer and more than you have." Rynne explained, gesturing with her palm from time to time as her expression appeared serious. Zarra chipped in to confirm what she said, making Lance think, maybe he still had hope in that regards.
"But I haven't been able to make any progress recently, won't you say it's because I've hit my limit? Maybe I'm just more suited to progress in healing than fighting." Lance thought out loud.
"Not sure." Zarra answered.
"We all hit wall every now and then, you just have to push through that wall and it'll work out." Rynne explained.
"I see."
Lance thought about it a bit more, realizing that for the time being, he was invested in development of the tribe, and didn't have too much time to do other things, so he wouldn't be able to do too much at the same time.
"I'll take it step by step for now. I won't give up on training, but for the time being, I'll prioritize improving and learning other healing magic spells."
"Fair enough. You're a busy man after all."
Their discussion continued, and they shared a rather rare moment where they all get to sit and talk together in each other's company.
…
The next day, Rynne wasted no time incorporating Lance's healing magic into the warriors' training regimen.
"You're not getting any special treatment just because Lance can patch you up," she announced to the gathered warriors, her voice sharp. "If anything, you'll train harder. No excuses."
The goblins groaned but obeyed, their drills becoming increasingly grueling under Rynne's watchful eye. Lance stood nearby, his hands glowing faintly as he healed cuts, bruises, and the occasional sprained joints amongst other injuries. Rynne used the excuse, saying it would also help Lance practice his new ability to explore his limits and capabilities.
So far, he had experienced no set backs, and was yet to hit his limit. Needless to say, his ability offered perfect healing and was fast.
"Keep moving!" Rynne shouted, her golden eyes gleaming. "Lance can heal your bodies, but he can't fix your laziness!" Well, they could be least described as lazy, but so goes the words of every trainer.
Despite the harshness of her words, the results were undeniable. The goblins pushed themselves harder than ever, knowing that even if they stumbled, Lance's magic would get them back on their feet.
…
By the end of the first week, the warriors had transformed. Their strikes were faster, their movements sharper, and their endurance nearly doubled. Even Rynne, who was rarely impressed, couldn't hide her satisfaction.
"They're improving," she admitted, watching as a pair of goblins sparred with surprising finesse.
"It's because of you," Lance chuckled drily to himself, visualizing Rynne as some intense military officer training new recruits. "Your leadership makes all the difference."
Rynne smirked. "And it's because of you they're still standing after all this. If it was Mira, she would have already collapsed by now, honestly, do you ever run out?"
"Well, I don't know yet. I guess we'll see."
…
Mira approached Lance later that evening, her expression thoughtful.
"You're using a lot of your magic," she said, her tone laced with concern. "Doesn't it take a toll?"
Lance shook his head. "Not really. It's strange, it's like the magic replenishes itself almost as fast as I use it. I barely even feel tired after every day's use."
Mira frowned. "That's… unusual. Healing magic normally comes at a lot of cost."
"Maybe I'm just lucky," Lance said, though her words lingered in his mind.
"Also, you might be healing the goblin warriors to enable them train harder and longer, but healing magic can only go so far. It only heals the physical, not the mental." Mira explained.
"Yeah, I thought about it too. I've actually spoken to Rynne about it. To make sure they don't collapse from mental exhaustion, we won't utilize it frequently." Lance explained.
"That's a great idea!" Mira said with a warm smile.
"Haha, it's just common sense. You just came back not long ago, right? Let me help you carry the basket." Lance offered, stretching his hand to take the basket of herbs she was holding.
"Thank you very much. Come on, I'll tell you something fascinating I came across."