Rules of Biomancy: A LitRPG Healer Fantasy

Elijah frowned as he felt the water reach his face. Even when settled in the grass a dozen meters from the lake, he couldn’t avoid the splashing those idiots were causing. The shouting, the cursing about the temperature, the endless messing around… it was gnawing on his nerves.

“Don’t look like that,” Aleksi said in a low voice, lying in the grass beside him. A wide-brim hat was pulled down over the giant’s face, stopping the blazing sun above from reaching his eyes. It did fail to hide the shit-eating grin, however. “You said yes to this. There’s no reason for you to complain now.”

His frown only deepened at the words.

“When I said yes to this, I was expecting some more maturity,” Elijah fired back, looking at what he’d gotten instead. “And I believe the original goal was to visit something more… luxurious.”

They both glanced at the wagon parked some hundred meters away. Mats were packed tightly inside to allow for some minor padding, but Elijah knew he would be investing in something much better if he was to be journeying outside Kulvik again. His back still ached from the few hours he’d spent lying on that abhorrent contraption.

“You still accepted the new location, you know?”

“I believe you spoke too positively of this place regardless.”

“I said that Dawn would love it, which, by what I’m seeing, she is.”

Aleksi wasn’t lying. Even without focusing on the bond, Elijah could see the duck floating around in the lake without fear for the massive waves caused by Jack and Sasha’s tomfoolery. While Dawn still couldn’t fly outright, she could use the upward pushes of the waves to gain altitude and glide around for a bit. Elijah didn’t see the point of such a thing, but the laughter from the other side made it clear she was having fun.

And he didn’t doubt that happiness and mirth were further enhanced by being able to move around independently.

Dawn hadn’t been granted that privilege for the past eight weeks, after all. Instead, she’d been confined to stay inside the left half of his chest, keeping the plant flesh stable and allowing it to slowly bond with the rest of his body. It’d been a necessity after his near-death during the fighting in Kulvik, even if neither enjoyed the experience.

He didn’t enjoy the current experience either, of course, but there was nothing to do about that. The green and rough surface that had replaced the skin on that chunk of his upper body was there to stay, even if the colored flesh and veins within operated as normal. It was a scar that he would carry for as long as he lived.

At least he’d gotten off easier than others.

The Academy hadn’t recovered from the blows it’d been dealt. Elijah doubted it would for a long time, with how most of its top Mages had been killed off in the span of a single night. Promotions had come rapidly after that, of course, with juniors becoming seniors and the few older folks still around becoming the leaders, but it didn’t mean the same. The roles were perhaps filled out, but the power that was didn’t exist anymore.

And powers were lost in more ways than just as a group. Individuals hadn’t been able to avoid the injuries either.

If not for the recent improvements, Elijah wasn’t sure he would’ve allowed Aleksi to even leave his bed. The giant hadn’t been as close to death as he’d been after that night, but eight weeks hadn’t allowed him to regain that old strength. His heart had been pushed too far too many times, and it would require more than time to let him recover. As of now, some mild exercise and practicing with Sasha was doable, but anything more than that had the giant feeling nauseous.

Elijah blinked when water rained down on him once more, making him look out into the lake again. Though it was idiotic to the highest of degrees, Jack had apparently started to transmute some of the rocks into… something, before throwing them out into the water. He wasn’t sure what compound led to such an explosive reaction so quickly, but they certainly seemed to enjoy it.

He didn’t shout at it to stop either.

Like Aleksi, they hadn’t been at their top after that night. While having survived being the sacrifices for the ritual to summon the Tarrasque, the Ritual had still sapped their Cores of energy. It’d only become more obvious a few days after the event when bouts of extreme tiredness came over them whenever they tried using their magic. That hadn’t been fun for anybody, Elijah having been forced to work around the clock to help stabilize them.

Yet time had allowed them to function somewhat once again. A slow cycling of Mana through their Cores, along with more than enough rest to make their bodies heal at accelerated rates, made it possible for them to push around magical powers like never before.

The fact that all water within five meters of the Absorber briefly disappeared proved that fact, though Elijah had to reconsider his position in the grass. Why had he trusted them to be more careful in their experimenting?

“Get that grumpy look off your face, Elijah,” Aleksi commented, tapping his side with a finger. “We didn’t travel a day in a wagon for you to disapprove of the youth. We have plenty of that at home.”

…

Fair enough.

After retreating another ten meters to avoid the effects of the blasts, the trip became much more enjoyable. With summer now at its peak, and the sun not being hidden behind a swell of clouds, the warmth could wash down on their old bones without reprieve. It was… nice. The eight weeks that had passed had perhaps been classified as a ‘time to relax,’ but that had only counted for the others in his group. Elijah’s duties as the Royal Healer had still been in full swing during that time.

Plants had been grown and harvested, concoctions had been made with fine details, and the injuries of the living had been tended to. So many had popped up after that assault, many of them impossible to fully treat without magical intervention. With most of those with an Affinity which allowed for that enhanced healing dead, the new Queen had been so kind and humble to allow the Royal Healer to work with people outside of his normal purview. Elijah personally would’ve preferred to spend his time letting his own body relax and recover, but the people’s image of the new Queen was more important to some.

It’s what I get for agreeing to this.

“There’s a deer staring at us at the tree line,” Aleksi mentioned, pulling Elijah out of his thoughts to take a look. As the giant had said, the small head of the animal could be seen hiding amongst the bushes and trunks just fifty meters away. “Are we going for it, or are we eating dried meat tonight?”

“Are you preparing it, if we catch it?” Elijah fired back. This was meant to be a relaxing time, and spending an hour cutting out the animal wouldn’t be anywhere close to that. And the mess… he wasn’t anywhere near as good with animals as he was with plants.

“You catch it, I chop it up.”

“Chop it? You’re expecting to make a stew?”

“Been a few decades since I got the chance, so why not?”

“... Can’t argue with that.”

The nostalgia of dishes made by the small fires fueled the call to his Core. Taking a deep breath, Elijah allowed the Mana to flow through his body, into his right hand, and into the earth below. It took a moment for the grass and its roots to accept his manipulation, but the wave of magic was too good to resist. In mere seconds, they bent to his will.

‘More!’

‘We need more!’

‘Give us more!’

‘We crave!’

‘Quiet,’ Elijah ordered, rolling his eyes as he continued to spread his influence through the grass. The shouting continued until the individual strands couldn’t contain more, allowing the Mana to pass through without issue. ‘Let me see where the beast is hiding.’

His request was respected instantly, the bushes and trees near the start of the small forest letting him see the exact location of the deer. It was still staring at them, thinking itself safe when obscured by the thin branches. Elijah didn’t doubt it would’ve normally worked as well, if not for Aleksi’s enhanced senses that allowed them to spot it to begin with.

But it’s too late now.

Rotating his wrist, the branches of the tree followed the movement. A slight creaking came from it, one that made the ears of the deer instantly rise. It was tense, sensing danger but unable to see where it was from.

Instinct made it as still as stone. An instinct that normally would work just fine, but the stillness helped Elijah this time around as he allowed the roots and branches to be sharpened along with becoming elastic.

And, after a second of checking it was all in working order, he sent the order.

‘Strike.’

The deer saw the movement from all sides. Grass wrapped around its hooves, the thin branches of the blueberry bush pierced its hide, and the thicker wood from the tree came down from above and wrapped around its neck. It struggled, it tried to break free, but there was nothing it could do in those precious three seconds.

Elijah turned his hand and the branches turned with him, the quick movement letting the broken neck be heard from so far away. He felt it as the life drained from the deer, as it struggled for a second more before the broken spine became too much and it succumbed to the darkness.

“What I wouldn’t have given to have you doing that 50 years ago,” Aleksi muttered, slowly rising from his position in the grass. The giant yawned, stretched old muscles, and finally got up on his feet. “I don’t suppose those magical hands of yours could conjure a proper fire as well?”

“Keep dreaming,” Elijah replied, getting a laugh out of the giant as they went over and grabbed the fallen animal together. “Give me a moment.”

‘Release it,’ he ordered the plants that had started to use their newfound awakening to try and capture the flesh for their own growth. The tree, able to move its branches, was in an ongoing pulling war with the bushes on who would be granted the gift of nutrition for a full week, both sides having branches tightly wrapped around and through the corpse. A brutal sight. 'Release it now,’

Putting pressure on his words finally made the plants obey, the deer flopping back to the ground. The sound of more bones breaking from the fall could be heard, but neither minded it much as Aleksi grabbed the deer and they returned to the wagon.

The giant was busy processing the deer by the time the three in the lake finally caught onto something interesting happening. Letting the sun dry them, they reached the wagon by the time that Aleksi was done skinning the animal, draining it of blood, and removing the meat from the bone.

“Here I thought we were going for another night of salted dinner,” Jack said, as he kept a healthy distance from the bloody area. Sasha just ignored it, however, walking to the wagon to get a change of clothes. “Make sure you don’t make too much of a mess, please. I’d like to sleep well tonight.”

“I didn’t think you were squeamish about a little blood, Jack,” Aleksi countered, intentionally picking out one of the leg bones and breaking it in half. The younger man shivered in disgust, making the giant laugh and throw it to Dawn. “I promise not to stain your precious fabrics if you get me the pot from the wagon. Should be in the front somewhere.”

The man went to do as much, while Elijah observed the duck’s hasty snacking. If he’d thought the sounds of the deer’s death to be violent, the crunching and splinters that came from Dawn’s eating were so much worse. That the duck’s body had the same mass as the bone she was somehow going through without breaking a sweat just made it all worse.

‘You’re not feeling full at all?’ he asked her, which made her pause for a moment.

‘It’s good,’ was the simple response. ‘Can’t waste it.’

Not too good of an explanation, but she did share her own magical processing a second later to clear things up. As fast as bone shards were entering through the mouth of the duck, the acids of the plant’s insides were breaking it down. Barely a moment needed to be spent before it was nothing but energy, compressed until it was barely possible to see, and then added into her reservoir which had been running somewhat empty after her journey in the lake.

He couldn’t blame her for the hunger, though Elijah did have to stop her from further consuming chunks of the deer. While the bones were fair game, the second she started reaching for the cut-out meat was the second that he had to step in.

“Sasha,” Elijah called, as he grabbed Dawn and kept her away from Aleksi’s work area. “Would you mind taking care of the fire?”

The woman looked at him for a moment before nodding. It took little time before wood had been gathered and a small circle had been formed with stones. After that, it was a simple act of using her Core to bring forth the concentrated heat.

“How doesn’t that hurt you?” Jack muttered as Sasha held some of the firewood. The skin on her fingers was exuding enough heat to make the wood smoke, and after another dozen seconds of the treatment, a solid flame started to come forth. A bit more pushing after having it join the other wood allowed the fireplace to start in full. “Are you immune to it or something?”

“Not immune,” Sasha replied, shaking the hand used. Darker spots could be seen, though they were steadily vanishing. “I can just resist it more.”

Elijah figured it was more than just a resistance when it barely took a minute before the skin showed no damage in the slightest. He knew from experience that such burn marks could take days to normally vanish, and yet she had no such problems holding her down. The perks of being an Absorber, Elijah supposed.

With a fire, plenty of meat to work with, and some greens that had been brought from the city, a stew was quickly started and allowed to sit comfortably until nightfall when it was ready. They ate it with glee under the light of the moon, the heat of summer stopping any notion of freezing. Elijah certainly found it comfortable.

More than enough to allow sleep to claim him soon enough. While his body wasn’t as tired as usual, age allowed him to have the ability to sleep whenever and wherever he felt the need. It certainly allowed a sense of serenity to claim his flesh until the morning lights reached over the trees, yet even then he kept on in a half-awake state since there was no need to hurry up.

Or so he’d hoped.

‘Your paper is burning,’ Dawn informed him an hour into his half-sleeping state. Elijah momentarily ignored it, thinking that one of the others had simply thrown some fuel into the fire to keep it alive, but he quickly rose from his mat as Dawn sent over the image of the red flames that had burst out from the paper in his bag. ‘More flames.’

“I can see that,” Elijah muttered as he opened up the satchel and took out the paper. Shaking it to let the ash residue come off, he skimmed through it.

‘Ethon knows. We need you all back. Reply when you read this.’

… Elijah had to sigh after reading it. Here he’d thought they would be able to take it easy, now that they could finally move around without being in pain.

Writing out a quick confirmation below the message, he woke the others up. It was time to turn the wagon around and go back home.