Tale Of A Berserk Healer

A young girl, a street urchin, crossed an alley, sighing.

(Not a lot today...)

She looked down at her earnings, only to hear a strange rattling in the distance.

(What's that noise?)

She turned... and jumped in shock!

"GET OUT OF THE WAAAAAAY!"

A young man screamed as he chased a wheelbarrow flying downhill, with two small wheels on its back to make it more like a cart, which now resulted in...

"GET BACK HERE CART!"

And she stepped back as the wheelbarrow flew by... and then the young man sprinting after it whisked by.

(...why do I feel like I know that screaming idiot from somewhere?)

She sighed, shaking it out of her head and walking away, slipping into a side alley and climbing up some hidden slits in the brick wall, up onto the roof.

Crossing over the walkways and dropping through an open stairway on a roof she made her way into the attic they'd found disconnected from its house to sleep in, and she smiled as she saw the few thin and dirty children huddled together.

"Hey guys! Guess what I found!"

"Mika!"

"Mika's here!"

"What's you find Mika?"

Mika laughed as she opened her arms to reveal 2 loaves of bread she'd swiped.

She shared it to much happiness among the other kids, smiling all the time.

(I'll do my best for you all.)

She patted a young boy on the head, who looked maybe 4 due to being underfed, but was actually 6.

"Eat slowly George, don't choke."

"Yes Mika!" He hastily pulled the slightly chewed chunk out of his mouth.

"No, just-ah. Just... chew it slowly? Okay?"

He nodded energetically, eating a bit slower but still ravenous.

Mika looked at his arms shaking while holding the bread.

(...I'll do my best.)

~ ~ ~

Ryth was currently running after a wheelbarrow. How did this happen?

Well this story can be summed up in three words.

A hill to go down, a rock to trip on, and a bottle of glue.

Where did the bottle of glue get involved?

I knew you'd get stuck on that one.

"HAAAAAH!" Ryth leaped!

And landed his upper c.h.e.s.t against the rim of the wheelbarrows as he half fell into it, knocking it over and crashing!

"CLANG-BANG-CLANG!"

Ryth spilled out onto the road, rolling and scraping his skin against the pavestones.

The wheelbarrow stopped, flipped and with a dent against its side.

"Agh..."

Ryth stumbled as he got up, waving off a passerby's help as he shakily walked over to the wheelbarrow and turned it back onto its wheels, grabbing hold of it as he looked about, orienting himself.

(Ouch...)

After a twinge of pain seemed to remind him he looked down to see if he had any injuries.

(Oh hey. That's blood. Oh right. My blood. I should be... concerned.)

Golden essence began to shine in the cuts and scr.a.p.es, sealing them slowly as the blood stopped flowing, however strangely enough a silver light flowed into his head, and his eyes suddenly cleared up!

(AGH! Ow! My head feels like it just got stuck in a bell and then it was rung by an asshole maniac!)

(...oh. Yeah. Wheelbarrow flipping with my head inside. Bad idea.)

Ryth grabbed his head as he winced, his headache beginning to fade.

(Did I have a concussion? Did I heal my own concussion?)

"...hey kid... where were you rushing to anyhow?!"

A passerby finally couldn't take it and exclaimed, but jumped as Ryth stood up straight suddenly, shouting!

"THE MARKET!"

He turned the wheelbarrow and took off, going down the streets as he maneuvered into the main streets made for carriages, and wide enough to take the wheelbarrow into at sprinting speed without hitting someone.

However due to healing himself, he found that he ran out of mana and had to walk for awhile before it could regenerate...

(I have like four times what I started with thanks to expanding my core, but I can't think it anymore, and need to level up to add more energy to expand with... come on level 3! You're so close!)

~ ~ ~

"Mrs Darnell?"

"Ah! Hello good sir, how may I assist you? Any specific flowers for the missus?"

"Oh no, I'm not married my dear." Benedict waved his empty hand as he planted his cane, taking a look around.

"I'm just looking for anything that spots my eye. You never know when something will speak to you, now will you? Especially with art."

"Art?"

"Why yes, are flowers not nature's art?"[1]

"Oh... why yes indeed sir!" The middle aged woman exclaimed with a slight blush.

A slight silver glint caught his eye as he looked at a higher shelf.

"Ah! You have a good eye, that flower is one that holds mana and is most likely one of the most expensive my shop has to offer."

"It's... mutated?" Benedict muttered under his breath, causing Mrs Darnell's eyes to widen.

"Mutated? Sir, what do you-"

"Hello master!"

She jumped at the sudden interruption as the door opened, revealing a young man with... dusty, dirty and beat up clothing?

(Are those bloodstains?)

"You found me quickly."

Ryth laughed. "I remembered your story and checked the florist first, I just got lucky. I got the wheelbarrow."

"Yes... was there an... accident?"

"..."

"..."

"Maaaybe."

"..."

"..."

Ryth laughed awkwardly at the twin silence of the two middle-aged a.d.u.l.ts.

"W-well, I guess I'll go get the foo-"

Master Benedict had turned away to resume his perusing as Ryth began to step towards the door, but turned back in confusion as Ryth cut off.

He saw Ryth's eyes gleaming as if looking at a unimaginable treasure and his mouth left open mid-speech.

He followed the track of his eyeline... to the silver flower.

"Haha... hahahahaha!" He burst out laughing.

"Don't drool apprentice. It's not a Dayflower, you can't use it to help you-"

"Mutated."

Benedict raised an eyebrow, while the florist felt more and more confused.

(Herbalist and his apprentice? So looking for herbs that are cheap from misidentification? But why is this mutated Dayflower so important?)

"Hey miss?"

"U-ueh? Yes young man?"

"This flower, it's essentially useless right? A Dayflower that mutated, it's lost the pure properties and could be considered garbage."

"I-I suppose, but it still does hold essence of mana from one of the sources."

"Hm... how much is it?"

"Apprentice?!"

"Don't worry, I'm just checking... I do have some of my own money thanks to commissions given to me as your apprentice you know."

Master Benedict sighed. (That's not the point! It's a mutated herb, yes, but it's now useless)

(Every healer dreams of creating new medicine or techniques or even potions with miraculous discoveries, but you can only use a herb with a matching energy yourself, unless you have a finished formula already!)

(As his master, should I just let him waste his money as a lesson? I suppose... he must learn patience and to be calm with such situations after all.)

"Well, it is indeed mostly pointless beyond the beautiful appearance, so I'll sell this for half the price of a Dayflower!"

Ryth dug into his satchel and took out some gold, quickly buying the flower before carefully wrapping it in a silk square and tucking it away, leaving a hand in his satchel as if to hold it.

"I'll get to the shopping then master, if I could have some funds for the food?"

"Were you were gonna buy it yourself and then ask me to pay you back."

"I was, but now I don't have enough."

Benedict wordlessly tossed a small green crystal at Ryth, who caught it with sudden care.

(Whoah! A bank crystal...)

Ryth bowed, thanking Mrs Darnell, and taking his leave, leaving an awkward atmosphere behind.

"He's... odd." Mrs Darnell finally said.

"Indeed. Stranger and stranger... well! Thank you for your time and patience my dear, but I must be going! Someone's gotta watch out just in case."

She laughed, and waved him off. "Shoo then, you 'art appreciator'!"

"I really do appreciate a good work of art."

~ ~ ~

(I will call you a Nightflower. A Dayflower helps create a core early or improve its strength during creating or fusing, so if I can get my hands on one and use you with it...)

Ryth smiled, as a small trickle of silver moonlight came from his hand and fed into the mutated flower.

[1] Okay why is my character smoother than me...