Rules of Biomancy: A LitRPG Healer Fantasy

In the distance, they could see Kulvik. It stood as tall as when they’d left it, but the outside had also been morphed after their departure. What before was flat grassland had become… hilly.

It was uneven, filled with bumps and massive ditches that Elijah was happy to avoid. The road to the city, and the small area around the entrance, had been spared from this treatment, but it was obvious that it could be terraformed in very little time if needed.

“I guess Alin has been busy,” Louis commented, as the prince looked at the altered landscape. He sounded despondent.

“Show some spirit, kid,” Aleksi fired back, clapping the prince’s shoulder. “No need for that face when you’re returning from a long trip.”

“... Right.”

Though it took a few minutes, the words were taken to heart, and Louis sat a little straighter while they entered the city. The guards didn’t bother to stop them at the gates, merely seeing their faces and letting them pass through.

The people inside the city were another question entirely, but the early hours made it easy enough to travel through without too many complications. Many still stared, and a few even shouted greetings, but nobody approached.

Nobody human, at least.

‘You return,’ the Dungeon commented, the second that the connection between them could solidify once again. There was no hesitation before the entity began to swim through his recent memories, wanting to learn what Elijah had seen. ‘You’ve grown.’

‘That I have,’ Elijah agreed. ‘Partly in thanks to my studies and partly because I somehow did the impossible during the first days of the trip.’

To make the meaning behind words clearer, he brought out the memory of exterminating the bandit camp, which included that initial strike where over a hundred had fallen at once. The sheer amount of energy that had been absorbed by the runes the dungeon had engraved onto Elijah’s soul… he needed answers.

‘I gave you a boon.’ the Dungeon replied. ‘You wanted it. What is the problem?’

‘You were meant to just increase my mana capacity.’

‘I did. I improved it.’

…

Elijah took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and tried to ignore the incredible desire to cuss out the entity below the city for all he was worth.

‘I helped. You survived,’ the Dungeon continued when Elijah offered no comment. Or maybe it could sense his frustrations. ‘Without me, you would have died.’

‘Perhaps, but I’d prefer to fully understand anything you do to my Core next time,’ Elijah countered.

‘... Acceptable,’ the Dungeon agreed after some seconds of thought. ‘You’ve grown. Changed. Expanded. You will not die if I explain. I will prepare.’

With that final comment, the pressure receded, and Elijah was left to wonder what he’d just agreed to.

“Should I be giving you a pep-talk about not frowning as well?” Aleksi asked, the giant somehow knowing exactly when Elijah was done communicating with the Dungeon. How that skill had been honed in so little time, Elijah didn’t understand.

“Shut it.”

Glancing back at the wagon behind them, Elijah spotted the others enjoying themselves. Mila was still clinging to Sasha like before, but the young girl also seemed interested in the city around them. Maybe it was the assurances from the woman about what to expect, or Jack’s neverending explanations for what each section of Kulvik housed, but Mila didn’t seem as on-edge as expected.

Seeing what the future likely had in store for the young girl, perhaps that was for the best.

“Oh my,” Alin said the instant that the small caravan reached the castle. The old Earth Mage had been standing ready to receive them, amongst the small horde of workers who instantly began to unpack the wagons for them. “You’ve all grown in so little time, a bit worse for wear but that’s what the road does to you, and… I see the headcount has grown as well.”

“That it has,” Elijah confirmed, eyes on Mila who was still firmly settled in Sasha’s grasp. From how she kept her grip as they disembarked, the girl was adamant about holding her hand. “Found her after being attacked by bandits.”

“A Stormcaller so young being captured?” Alin muttered, eyes darkening as the implications became clear. “Vera is waiting for us in the garden. Please, tell me more while we walk.”

Elijah did as asked, recapping their venture into the forest and the circumstances that had caused Mila to be discovered. Though it was muted, Alin clearly had a distaste for the treatment, and the mention of the cages the girl had been forced to endure nearly brought the man to a standstill.

“The world can be cruel,” the Earth Mage commented, old eyes studying the young girl. Elijah didn’t miss how Mila shrunk under Alin’s gaze, and neither did the Royal Mage himself as he immediately stopped. “We’ll have to discuss this further a little later. Vera should be ready to see us.”

Warm air pushed against Elijah’s skin, as they entered the garden. Inspecting the plants as they walked by them, he could safely say that his assistants had done their job well, while he was gone. Some of the more frustrating herbs showed yellow spots and mildly stunted growth, but those were minor issues at best and he could easily rejuvenate them after the meeting finished.

“Welcome back to you all,” Vera greeted from the meeting table, once the group entered the small area hidden behind circular bushes. The queen had two stacks of documents in front of her, a pen in her hand, and bags under her eyes. “Sorry for not greeting you by the entrance. We’ve been… busy.”

“You look like shit,” Louis bluntly stated, the prince walking over to hug his sister who just barely got off the chair. The words barely seemed to be heard, as Vera was busy being shocked by the embrace. “It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s… yeah, it’s nice to see you too,” Vera replied, hugging her brother back with a tired chuckle. She sent a questioning glance towards Elijah who just shrugged. He hadn’t expected this from Louis either. “When you’ve had a chance to have a proper bath, I’d love to hear everything that happened during this trip of yours.”

“Haven’t I told you plenty, with the daily reports?”

“The written word can leave out many details,” she assured him. Another word was ready to fall from Vera’s tongue, but it froze when the queen’s eyes fell upon Mila who’d moved towards the flowers on the side. Elijah briefly thought that the matter of the Stormcaller was to be brought up first and foremost, but the severity of other topics seemingly had to be dealt with. “Regardless, I believe I owe you all a few explanations regarding the missing baron in Melrond.”

They got seated around the table, while Harper appeared and delivered another dozen documents to Vera. While they were briefly looked over, to figure out what priority they were to be given, the rest of the servants all left. Even the most loyal ears weren’t trusted apparently.

“Putting things bluntly, we are preparing for war,” Vera started out, before handing Elijah a map of the country. Each of the regions had multitudes of notes attached, detailing the population and their readiness for mobilization. “We’ve been contacting the dukes and the most influential barons under their purview about their available resources for training the populace. Efforts have been slow since few of them have been willing to allocate much for the country’s military, but direct discussions in Kulvik have made it possible to convince even the more stubborn ones.”

“A refusal to assist?” Aleksi commented, looking over the map as well. “The country founded on the principle of people coming together as one suddenly has cold feet?”

“Generational differences,” Vera explained. “Most of the people that remember how it was before the founding no longer hold positions of power. The new generation is in charge now, and they don’t understand what we’re protecting.”

Elijah wasn’t sure what to think about that. He knew for a fact that the old stories of the war had been retold to every soul in the country a hundred times over. Even if the younger folk hadn’t worshiped the late king as much as the elderly, they’d still respected the man for what he had accomplished.

And yet that respect didn’t extend to giving down their lives for the cause. That undying willpower that had fueled the people during the war was no longer present. It had been won, after all. Kids had grown up in prosperity, never feeling the fist that had hung above them.

‘Spoiled’ wasn’t the right word to describe them. ‘Ignorant’ fit better. They didn’t truly understand what Serenova stood for.

“How did you convince them?” Elijah asked, to which Vera smiled.

“A history lesson worked for most, but the truly unruly ones… I made it clear what loyalty meant,” the queen replied. When Elijah narrowed his eyes at the words, she chuckled. “No direct threats were given, I promise you. Simply an explanation of what would happen if Castilla was to retake what we’ve cut out for ourselves.”

Executions galore for those at the top, and removal of wealth and influence for everybody below.

“What time frame are we working with?” Louis asked, after skimming through the other papers.

“If we were to allocate all available resources towards the training of the common folk, we could have an army of fifty thousand skilled fighters within five years,” Vera recited. “Given another two years, there’s a chance of putting another fifty on top of that.”

Five years was too long.

Their current army only stood at five thousand strong, with another ten in the reserves. It had been larger in the past, but decades of little use had caused the budget to have been diverted to other areas.

“What are Castilla fighting with nowadays?” Aleksi asked. During the old war, the country had easily delegated fifty thousand fighters as well. With how they’d been defeated with that count, Elijah guessed it must’ve grown significantly since then.

“We don’t have the faintest idea.”

What?

“We have no intelligence about their numbers?” Louis said, bafflement clear in his voice. “Nothing at all?”

“No news in the past ten years, no,” Vera confirmed. Her grimace matched the prince’s easily. “All channels regarding their movements and recruitment were cut off from the public. They’re still taking in people, as they’ve always done, but there’s been no leaks regarding how many and in what positions.”

Further on, the underlying issue of mages came around quickly. Castilla had two larger academies focused around each of their dungeons. Like with Serenova, a fraction of those studying specialized in combat, but even then their numbers were much higher than that of Serenova’s. Likewise, the power they wielded was high above what Serenova could muster.

“Multiple centuries of steadily building up a foundation of scholars, along with a larger population to cherry-pick talent from, isn’t something we can match easily,” Alin explained, knowing much about their academies. The old Earth Mage had been a part of one of them many decades ago, after all. “Since almost all of the younger mages still among us have seen what tyrannical power can cause, most of them have shown a willingness to fight, but they still need many months of training before I’m permitting them to enter any true battlefield.”

“I’ll make sure more of the slots for delving into the middle floors of the Dungeon are opened for your use,” Vera promised, which Alin accepted wholeheartedly. While the youth still needed to follow the steps of scholars, gaining more practical experiences wouldn't hurt. And, even if it was normally frowned upon and seen as a crutch, the residue of felled monsters would make the alterations to their Cores easier. “Now… with that out of the way, I have a question for you all.

“Would you be willing to go on another diplomatic mission?”

With dirt still firmly on Elijah’s skin, a product of spending a little over ten days on the road in a row, and a tired body that longed after a better mattress to sleep, there was little need to even consider the proposal.

“Depends on where we’re going,” Jack countered, regardless of what Elijah thought. “Seeing an elf was fun and all, but we spent almost a month getting to and from there.”

“The journey is not as long this time, with only eight days each way,” Vera supplied. “And, no, the elves are not an issue we need to handle for the next month’s time. Instead, I’ve been contacted by the dwarves of Darim.”

Dwarves?

Darim sat on the same continent as Serenova and Castilla, but it was much further south and had a thick mountain range to separate it from the latter country. Serenova didn’t border the dwarven lands at all, in fact.

“I didn’t know you had any contact with Darim,” Elijah commented. From the unsurprised looks from Alin and Louis, it seemed this secret was a grade above what the general population was allowed to hear about. “What do they want?”

“To discuss possible changes regarding our under-the-table gold trading,” she explained. “We’ve had dealings with them every three years when the gold is harvested from Dungeon for the past decades, but they’ve contacted us several months ahead of schedule.”

“Because of the change in leadership?”

“Probably,” Vera said with a shrug. “Other than wanting to discuss future dealings, they haven’t specified what they wanted changed either. If I were to wager a guess, it’s likely going to be about price reductions. My father oversaw the original deals, and with him no longer being among us, they presumably think they can push the agreement further in their favor.”

“Don’t be too harsh on the dwarves outright, Vera,” Alin interrupted. “They’re prideful folk, but they honor their agreements. If Darim wishes to alter our dealings, I’m sure it will not be in bad faith.”

“Trusting foreign groups to have our best intentions in mind is not a thing we can afford at the moment,” the queen countered. “But, I digress. Is this something I can trust you to handle? I know leaving only a day or two after arriving is sudden, but things are starting to move fast, and we need this dealt with.”

On principle alone, Elijah still wanted to reject the idea, but he could see how Jack’s mind was moving. The gears inside the young man were grinding more than usual, and the old stories of the dwarves that he had been told were working in Vera’s favor.

“If there’s less travel time, then I’m fine with visiting the dwarves,” Jack said, before looking over at Sasha. “What about you?”

“... Fine,” Sasha gave in. Elijah doubted it mattered much to the woman. “But we’re bringing better food.”

“When it’s a shorter journey like this one, I don’t think that will be a problem,” Vera assured her, though the bright eyes dimmed a little once they fell upon the young girl who sat next to Sasha. “What are your plans for Mila, by the way? I would assume she is to be taught, but…?”

The trailing sentence was met by silence, as the conundrum was placed upon the group. Elijah already knew that it would be irresponsible to bring Mila along for another journey. The young girl had without question started to grow very attached to them, Sasha most of all, but the road was not fit for her. And the fact that she had the gifts of a Stormcaller, a very volatile and dangerous Affinity unless honed, the right choice would be to let her stay at the academy.

“I’m going,” Mila said determinedly, not allowing any other choice to be considered. And yet… Even Sasha’s eyes softened when she looked down at the girl. “I’m going!”

“If it might help with this matter, I can offer my mentorship,” Alin added to the conversation, while Mila was calmed down by the others. “Taking on another wouldn’t be too difficult, since Grace hardly needs my assistance nowadays.”

“Is she done with her thesis?” Elijah asked, which Alin happily confirmed. “How did the examination go?”

“She passed with flying colors,” Alin explained, a wry smile forming at the pun. “Her abilities with wind have grown exponentially. There’s still much to learn on the practical side, but Grace has more than managed to catch up with her peers.”

Elijah was happy to hear it, knowing how much the young Wind Mage had been working towards achieving this. To finally graduate from her position as a student, and move to the proper ranks for the arcane scholars, was a goal that had been many years in the making.

The feast that must’ve been made in her mother’s inn to celebrate the occasion… In some ways, Elijah was both happy and sad he’d been forced to avoid the event.

“Before we leave in two days, we will be visiting the Dungeon,” Elijah added, before they could get too ahead of themselves. Mila had finally been convinced of the idea, though she still loathed it and demanded to spend every second with them while they were in the city. “Alin, if you’re willing to help us visit the lower floors to meditate, I would be very thankful.”

The damage that had been forced upon the two young adults’ Cores was more than gone by now, and they were due for advancing their powers.

“Say less, friend,” Alin replied. “I’ll bring Grace, and we can all visit the floors together tonight. I have been hoping to test out her capabilities down there, and this seems like a great opportunity.”

With that settled, the meeting was finished. There were still hours worth of reports that Louis and Fade needed to get through with Vera, but nobody else had to be present for those, which allowed Elijah more than enough time to check up on the rest of the Royal Gardens.