Rules of Biomancy: A LitRPG Healer Fantasy

Elijah truly hoped that they wouldn’t have to do this again and keep the amount of patients seen low. Even when he’d been helping people in his shop, it had been very limited. A quick look, a year of medication to help, and then he rarely had to check up on them again. Simple. Here, it wasn’t.

“We could go up to the Royal Garden and start one of the harvests a day early if you want to,” Oscar suggested as the trio took a break from their duties, a cup of tea and some light snacks giving their muscles ample time to recover. “We are a little behind on the upkeep regardless, so it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Taking a look won’t be a bad idea,” Elijah supposed, grabbing some more of the biscuits that Mary had brought over. It seemed that the people in the kitchen were ready to make and prepare anything that they wished, including just about every type of food, dessert, or drink that they had the ingredients for. The privilege wasn’t abused, but Elijah’s position gave him and his assistants the ability to do as they pleased in that regard. “I did notice something while reading through the documentation earlier today, by the way.”

“What was that?” Mary asked.

“While there is a segment regarding entry into the Dungeon, there’s never anything said about actually going inside. Is it uncommon to do so?”

“Well… yes?” Oscar answered, putting down one of the biscuits. “We have most of the plants we would need in our own garden, so any common illness or ailment can be treated without fetching anything from the Dungeon. We did have one occurence… two years ago? Might be— no, it was two years ago, during the last Dungeon Break, where we followed the excursion into the depths to harvest some of the very rare flora. I believe it was a variant of the Idun Apples, some Jade Vines, and a third that I barely got a glimpse of. Do you remember, Mary?”

“It might’ve been a Ghost Orchid, but I can’t say for certain,” the other assistant replied. “We were there mainly for the experience of being in a Mana-Dense environment, while Reynold harvested what we needed.”

Idun Apples are for life-extending elixirs for the weak or Hill-Giant potions for the physical fighters. Jade Vine is mainly for Magical Rituals involving the gem, but it could’ve been used as a near-permanent light source as well. And a Ghost Orchid… That’s only viable for inducing short-term comas and wanting to avoid the risk of overdosing.

“Do you know what he used them for?”

“The first was for King’s treatment before we started on You-Know-What, but the other two were for something else,” Oscar explained, not daring to mention the Heartroot Vervains when the windows weren’t fully shut. “Not that this was uncommon, since a lot of the more complicated brews were done without our involvement. Many required so much precision that Reynold didn’t want to risk trying to teach us while the brewing was ongoing, so he would sometimes do them without telling us much.”

Not a bad excuse, though Elijah still didn’t feel right about it. Regardless, he did figure out what he needed to know a minute later, as the two continued to expand on their journeys into the Dungeon. It wasn’t often they did, and especially not in the last two years, but before that, it had been something they’d do at least once every ten or so months. It was something to learn how to harvest plants in the wild, sometimes as a test to see if they could separate similar-looking variants, and sometimes because the ones in the Dungeon were easier to process for beginners.

“By the end, Reynold would simply come in the afternoon, look whichever guard was there in the eye, and we would all walk through without ever interacting with them further,” Mary reminisced. “I think they got tired of us, at some point. That head lady didn’t like me when I tried talking to her about her position and what she thought of the plants I had on me.”

“That would’ve been Olivia Blackwell you were talking to,” Elijah supplied, knowing all too well how she would’ve reacted to some youngster trying to excitedly chat about whatever herbs and natural life could be found within the Dungeon. She cared about their function and nothing else. “Not the most talkative person in the world, but she’s nice when you get to know her.”

Depending on how you define ‘nice.’

The conversation continued, but the important part had already been figured out. The guards just had to know it was him, that he was the Royal Healer, and they wouldn’t check their faces. Elijah was still going to heavily disguise the two young adults, to the point where they would be nearly unrecognizable anyway, but it seemed that the wish to enter into the Dungeon was going to be fulfilled very soon.

Another three hours were able to pass afterward in relative quiet. Elijah got another look at the Royal Garden, was able to harvest some of the finished fruits of the tropical plants, and found an empty patch where he could plant some more Frostseeds over in the colder areas. Nothing that would be too vital during the summer, but some plants would help with the complaints about cold that would surely arrive when winter came along.

Nothing too complicated, of course. He used his magic sparingly as well, giving whatever plant needed it a small boost. Some had other adjustments in terms of what earth they were put in, along with the acidity and the nutrition balance, but the changes were minimal.

While he couldn’t say it was all perfect, Elijah had to admit that the former Royal Healer had been an expert within the field. Being able to get so close to the ideal environment for the hundreds of different plants, adjusting according to their individual needs on a near-weekly basis, without having the sixth sense that came with Biomancy was an insane feat. Elijah was sure he would’ve never been able to accomplish anything like it without his gift, and he was just as sure that most masters of the craft wouldn’t be able to either.

A loss for the kingdom that you left it, old man.

He noted the small inscribed stone that had been put next to the Phoenix Fruits at the front entry of the top garden. It had the initials of the previous Royal Healer, along with some heartfelt messages from the two assistants. A short recounting of an old memory, one that must’ve meant a lot to them since the letters looked to have been carved out by hand.

After dinner was served, a simple dish of pasta, chicken, and some sauce with a name that went over Elijah’s head, the warning Harper had given him earlier came true. They were barely able to wash the dishes, the assistant preparing to deliver the plates and cutlery back to the kitchen when rhythmic knocks were heard from the door into their office. A slow one, four quick ones, and two more slow ones. A sign of somebody with time to waste.

The Princess.

“You’re a few minutes earlier than expected,” Elijah commented, as he opened the door and saw Vera and Harper standing in the hall. Seeing who was there, both assistants immediately rose from their seats, standing with their backs straight and their eyes forward. “Sit back down, you two. This isn’t a formal visit.”

They looked unsure until a very dignified snort left the Princess, the assistants hesitantly going back to their work of cleaning everything up. It turned out that the later duties of the day were a deep clean of the entire laboratory, something that they were preparing for in a practiced rhythm.

“I’m happy to see you deciding the tone of the visit instead of me,” Vera commented, as she went inside. Harper did the same, though the aide stood by the door instead of going further in like the royal. “I’ve brought the documents regarding my father that you were missing, by the way. Reynold used to have them in his personal quarters for safe-keeping, but I thought it best to hold onto them until a new Healer came in to fill the position.”

“A fair choice,” Elijah said, accepting the folder. Sitting down, he read through it all as calmly as possible. “This is about what I expected to see.”

Hypertension, respiratory issues, easily dazed while standing, and has trouble even getting out of bed on the best of days before it gets even worse.

Age came for all, and especially the ones who wore their bodies thin by never stopping to rest at a single point in their lives. Maybe they didn’t have a choice, but the results were the same regardless. Nothing was going to stop the consequences.

“So?” Vera said after ten minutes of Elijah steadily reading through the reports. Reynold had been detailed about the condition, already fearing the worst five years before. The Idun Apples mentioned before had been a form of last-rally for the king’s body, meant to give him some form of strength but never giving as good an effect as it was meant to. Reynold had suspected an inability to digest it, and Elijah was starting to believe it. “What are your ideas about this?”

…

“Do you value honesty over optimism?” Elijah asked. He had a very blunt truth to give, but he wasn’t sure if that was truly what the Princess wanted to hear.

“Lies rarely make the truth better,” Vera replied bitterly. “I take it that means nothing good?”

“It wasn’t ever going to be good,” he said. “This is just worse. Reynold might’ve never said it outright, but the Heartroot Vervains is the only thing stopping your father from dying. If you stop the dosage he is getting, he will die within a few days.”

The Princess clicked her tongue, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. She stayed like that for a minute or two, needing to process it all before she could speak again. Elijah didn’t blame her.

“So your plan is to continue the dosage and change nothing?” she asked.

Nobody deserves that torture.

“I’d rather not keep it like this, actually,” Elijah answered, Vera frowning and signaling for him to continue. “Within a year, your father will have built up a tolerance for the Heartroot Vervains. Enough that the dosage needs to be doubled to still keep him alive, which is possible to do for another year or two, but after that point, he will suffer a very excruciating death while never having left his bed at any point during that time.”

“Not a death that a man with his achievements deserves,” Vera muttered. “I assume you’ve got an idea on how to avoid this fate?”

“Reynold focused on having his heart beat for as long as possible,” he replied. “Mine will be for him to live while he can. It will include a higher dosage of stimulants to artificially increase his cognition and ability to stay in place, wide-reaching pain medication to stop the pain that will come from his body as he moves, enough muscle enhancers to allow the tissue to hold together, something for the bones as well, something for the lungs and heart to handle the load, and finally, something for the stomach to let it take the punch all of this will bring. We can avoid some of the harsher effects by letting it be absorbed through the skin, but we are going to push his body to the limit regardless.”

…

“That is a different approach from the minimalist one that Reynold had,” the Princess commented after a second. The assistants next to them had paused in their work, looking at Elijah mildly horrified at what he had just said. “The opposite, in fact, but maybe that’s what my father needs? How long do you think he’ll survive with this approach?”

“Eighteen months in the best scenario, twelve if Reynold hasn’t been overly positive in these notes, and only six if he’s already grown more resistant to the Heartroot than he’s supposed to be,” Elijah explained in clear terms. He wasn’t giving the King good odds, never intended to because there wouldn’t be any, but this could make him stand until the end. “We will reduce the dosage of the Heartroot slightly, enough for change to occur easier, but it will not be permanent. Your father’s remaining days will be effectively halved.”

Asking the man himself would’ve been preferred, but he doubted they could even understand his words at the moment.

“What he’s going through now isn’t living. He’s surviving, right on the line to join my mother on the other side,” Vera said. She spent another minute in thought. “... You can go through with your plan. I’ll allow it.”

That made his eyebrows raise, and the others in the room took it a step further by freezing in place, their breaths caught in their throats as her words echoed in their minds.

“You won’t discuss it with your brothers? With Alin?” Elijah questioned, having expected to go through the conversation with the others present as well, yet Vera only shook her head.

“You are the one in control of what happens to my father,” the Princess, second in line for the throne and daughter to a very sick man, explained. Her eyes didn’t waver, her voice didn’t crack, and there was no hint of hesitation from her. She was steadfast in her position, not intending to leave it. “Asking me for permission is a formality. If the Royal Healer believes action must be taken, then action will be taken. In this, you are the highest authority.”

…

With nothing more needing to be said, the deep cleaning of the laboratory was ceased as they set to work. While Elijah wouldn’t be starting out the full treatment that night, as that would overload the body, the stimulants and other basic physical enhancers would be tried out. Dosing was an educated guess, low to stop any accidents, but enough to still have an effect however minor.

His assistant brought everything together, cleaning the tools to be used, and packing it all together for him. The final task of applying it all, however, would be without their presence, as only he would be to visit the King.

“Harper,” was all Vera needed to say before her assistant left the two behind, walking in the opposite direction while they moved towards the stairs to the top spire. “I will show you to his room, but I won’t be there when you start your work.”

“That’s stupid of you,” Elijah replied bluntly. “Don’t trust me like this. The King is more important than that.”

“I have faith,” Vera countered, ignoring his complaints as they went up the spiral stairs to the top of the castle. There was a larger set of stairs further away that weren’t as narrow, but those took longer to get to and they didn’t want to waste time. “You’ve shown little animosity towards the crown.”

“Neither have I shown love for the Royalty.”

“Indifference is acceptable,” the Princess said without a pause. “Not caring is a feat by itself, and your lacking lust for gold means that the benefits of you working at your utmost ability for the next six months will be the likeliest choice for you to make.”

A logical conclusion, yet that didn’t mean leaving him with the King was smart anyway. Leaving something like this to ‘most likely’ was unacceptable.

Regardless, the top of the stairs was reached, a grand set of doors was seen, and the guards beside it bowed to the entrance before letting Elijah walk through. As promised, she did not follow, Vera nodding at him while the doors closed and left him alone in the room.