Chapter 17

The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away – 017

EP.17 The Physician Exam (3)

– Thud! –

– Krkrkr! –

The goblin struck by my sword made a boiling sound as it slammed its head on the ground.

I hit it squarely, but couldn’t kill it instantly. It’s because of my weak strength.

“Ouch.”

Ironically, it’s my hand that’s ringing.

It wasn’t exactly the sword that hit, more like a club, and it shattered like one.

As expected, swords don’t suit me well.

I decided to hold on until the knights could regroup.

“Hup!”

It’s the minimal combat technique I learned from Tanya.

These low-level monsters tend to hesitate when they see someone big like me, wasting time adjusting to their attack angles.

She said that she would take care of it if I bought time like that, so I just swung my sword sharply.

Trickery, whirlwind swings.

– Whoosh, whoosh, crack! –

My randomly swinging sword makes a whistling sound and cleaves the ground.

Seeing that, the goblins take a step back, grinding their teeth, hesitating when to jump at me.

“Ouch, my arm hurts.”

It’s effective, but I can’t keep it up for long.

Still, thanks to the technique Tanya’s taught me, it fits perfectly.

“Young master!”

As I rotate my arm like a child, before I knew it, Tanya swiftly cleaned up the remaining monsters.

“Oh, my arm. Next time, please deal with it faster.”

Tanya looks at me and smiles brightly.

“I knew you’d fight well. You handled the situation excellently in real combat.”

“Well, did you deliberately delay helping me?”

“Haha, of course not.”

She said so, but her answer somehow felt insincere.

Look at her.

“Hey, thanks to you, I missed the opportunity to showcase my healing skills. Six healers have already healed the villagers, and the rest supported the knights, but what about me?”

“Thanks to you, other healers could shine. Judgment in real combat is also important. My Lord must know that.”

I glanced back at Father. He was looking at me intently.

“Oh, are you back to your senses?”

“I’m holding onto my healing skills!”

“Now they can return to life!”

Seeing the commotion among the healers, the villagers seemed to be waking up.

“Without you, we wouldn’t even know that the villagers were kidnapped. It’s an important contribution.”

“So what? This is a physician exam, not an adventurer’s test.”

Tanya replied confidently.

“The goblin shaman subjugation is not over yet. From now on, let’s actively support our knights.”

With a firm tap on my shoulder, Tanya returned to the main camp.

Anyway, the rescue of the villagers was successfully completed. With the healers’ effort, they soon regained consciousness.

“Thank you so much! Our farm is in the north, and we came near the forest to find fertilizer but ended up being attacked.”

“We thought we were going to die like this… Oh, what should we say to express our gratitude?”

The two villagers were recently married young couples.

They bowed to Father repeatedly.

“My, My Lord! It’s an honor for such a distinguished person to come here in person.”

“Protecting the villagers is also the duty of a lord.”

“My Lord, knights, and healers, if it weren’t for you, we would have died….”

“We almost left without noticing you were kidnapped. You should thank him too.”

Tanya intervened and conveyed to the couple.

“What?”

“Young Master Gothberg was the first to notice your danger. Thanks to him, we could plan the rescue operation.”

“Young Master Gothberg!”

“Thank you so much. You’re our lifesaver.”

The couple ran up to me, grabbed my hands eagerly, and bowed deeply.

Haha, they’re getting so touched over nothing.

I just did my duty as a physician.

“Don’t run around like that when your injuries haven’t been treated yet. With low blood, you’ll faint again from low blood pressure. Go back and grill some meat.”

“Low blood pressure…? Young Master knows many elegant words.”

“Yes, I’ll remember your words deeply.”

Even simple medical knowledge should be widely known to the public.

Because there are many misconceptions about folk remedies, it’s important for accurate information to spread initially.

Seeing patients walking around lively makes me feel a bit proud.

Tanya assigned one knight to escort the villagers back to the entrance. The main force continued forward, turning left at the intersection.

“The fact that there was an ambush means the goblins have detected our movements. We need to be even more cautious.”

“Hmm.”

Tanya word, making Father tense up.

Adding to her point, I added.

“Moreover, the presence of small hidden caves all around means we should assume we could be ambushed at any time.”

“Understood. We need to protect everyone here.”

Father raised his rosary. It wasn’t a healing spell. As he recited passages from the scripture, his body began to glow subtly, a process where his lifelong faith manifested into concrete spells.

“May you help us break through the darkness and bestow your blessings.”

A faint starlight sparkled around the knights. It was a high-level healing skill, [Blessing], available in the later stages of the healer skill tree, accessible only to top-tier healers.

“Oh, my lord used the Blessing!”

“My body feels much lighter.”

The knights cheered, raising their swords and shields. Even the healers watching the test couldn’t help but marvel at Father’s skill.

“A Blessing, isn’t it? Most healers wouldn’t be able to learn even after a lifetime of practice, would they?”

“And to teach it to so many knights… Truly, Lord Gothberg is something.”

“Gothberg isn’t just from a renowned family of healers. On the other hand, young master…”

I felt the glance of the healers testing me.

“Just earlier, he was swinging his sword instead of healing the sick.”

“Perhaps it’s just his usual habit?”

If you’re going to gossip, at least do it properly. I can hear you, you brats. I might have sensitive ears. I always keep my ears sharp to avoid being ambushed by monsters at night.

“If you have time to relax, double-check your surroundings.”

Tanya urged the healers. They quieted down and followed the knights.

We resumed exploring the cave along the path. I remained at the forefront, commanding alongside Tanya.

“Goblins ahead!”

Boris, with keen senses, shouted, and the battle began.

The goblins, larger than the ones we encountered earlier, wielding clubs, charged at us.

“Now let’s fight openly without needing to hide!”

The clash of swords and clubs echoed in the cavern as the hefty bodies slammed against the cave walls violently.

As the battle continued, injuries on our side were inevitable. Even with the knights of Marquis’s caliber, multiple attacks from a group of goblins would eventually take their toll.

Getting hit by a club, the knight arm bruises, and leg throbs. Falling over, the knight shoulder dislocates. It’s the healers’ job to immediately heal them and assist in combat.

“Ugh…!”

Some healers, their legs trembling, struggle to cast healing spells properly, hindered by fear. When healers panic, their faith, built not on knowledge but on belief, diminishes according to the extent of their doubt. Healing spells influenced by faith and sanctity tend to weaken.

Now, the part where the real evaluation begins.

“As the ancient land splits and the goddess descends, leaving behind three scriptures!”

The spell Gis is casting is decent, but he’s targeting the wrong person.

“Diagnosis.”

I scan the knights, focusing on those who have been heavily attacked or lack skill.

[Injury Status: Bleeding]

[Injury Status: Fracture]

[Injury Status: Bruise]

….

…

..

Multiple status windows appear, showing the diagnosis of each fighting knight.

‘Tanya… she’s unscathed.’

The fractured one needs immediate attention.

I tap Gis’s shoulder lightly.

“Young master? Please don’t disturb!”

“Over there, start with the knight with the red bandage on his arm.”

“What?”

“Tanya is uninjured. Instead of wasting spells on someone unharmed, prioritize treating the injured.”

“But how can we know? With armor, we can’t see the injuries. In this situation, any injury should be treated immediately, shouldn’t it?”

It’s one of the inconvenient aspects of healing magic in combat. Since frontline soldiers can get injured anytime, healers must keep casting spells to provide immediate relief. Since the injuries are random, the best approach is to blindly treat them on-site.

“Do as I say. He fractured his ankle. If he pushes himself or gets hit again, it’ll turn into a compound fracture and take even longer to heal.”

“Then why don’t you do it, young master!”

“I have a better idea.”

With that, I pull out a vial from my pocket.

Inside, a sparkling red liquid sways.

“What’s that?”

“Never seen it before? It’s the famous panacea.”

————–

Enhanced Red Potion (Enhanced)

Effect: Sterilizes the area of applied wounds.

Special Effect: When used on soldiers, it provides additional healing effects for injuries.

————–

The army’s panacea.

It’s turning into a red potion.

To be precise, it’s iodine, called a disinfectant.

Originally, it should be made with chemical synthesis, so we couldn’t just make it without ingredients.

But the red potion we’re familiar with is a second-generation improved version.

The first-generation red potion was made with mercury compounds.

‘Mercury is subtly common as a magical ingredient.’

Mercury was easy to obtain from the mansion.

By tinkering with the [Enhancement] skill, I found I could produce it.

Since it’s based on my medical knowledge, it also has healing effects for soldiers.

It’s intended for friends fulfilling their defense duties, but broadly speaking, the knights are similar, aren’t they?

After the battle, the knights start their maintenance.

I use Diagnosis and examine the knights.

Sentry knight Boris seemed to be an appropriate candidate.

————–

Diagnosis is activated.

Injury Status: Bruise

Injury Location: Left shoulder

————–

“Hey, Boris, hurt your shoulder? Let me see.”

“Yes? Oh, yes.”

I dab the potion onto the swelling, allowing it to seep into the tissues.

Boris flinches at the unfamiliar sensation.

“Oh, what a surprised! What’s this?”

“Ah, just wait a moment.”

After a brief moment, the smoothly applied red substance shimmered faintly orange, reminiscent of body painting. It indicated the healing effect had taken effect.

“Oh, what’s this…?”

A senior healer overseeing the evaluation seemed intrigued and came over to see me.

“Wow, indeed, it seems healed. This method is quite new. Sir, how does it feel?”

“Strangely refreshing. It feels like the pain has subsided.”

I explained.

“The greatest advantage of this remedy is that the wounds don’t worsen. The vivid color also allows for quick identification of treated injuries, saving time.”

“Indeed. Is this alchemy?”

“It’s a potion made through alchemy.”

“Alchemy, hmm…”

The senior healer seemed surprised, as expected. He went back to discuss with the other evaluators, appearing quite puzzled by the new treatment method. But my father looked at me with satisfaction, as if he had anticipated this.

“Next knight, also a bruise. Apply the red potion and you’ll be fine. Next, a fracture. Apply the red potion for now. And you’ve caught a cold. Apply it on your throat for now.”

While other healers treated one knight each, I could handle five at once. It was quite efficient. Although only three knights actually benefited from the antiseptic, it would earn us a good score. The more, the better.

“Maintenance is complete. Let’s continue forward.”

Tanya ordered, and the unit moved forward again.

It felt like we were closing in on the leader of this cave.