DMS Chapter 205

Flinx spent the next few hours healing the sick in the village of Rembold. He waited in one of Millifred's treatment rooms while the sick villagers entered one by one.

Millifred handled the payments, and Flinx overheard that she charged on a sliding scale based on each patient's family's financial situation.

At least she followed his one requirement: those who were truly poor paid only a single copper coin.

The treatment room contained only a bed, a chair, and a table. Flinx moved the chair beside the bed, then asked each patient to sit.

Whenever someone entered, Flinx asked about their ailment and examined them. In truth, he didn't need to know the details. Whether they suffered from disease, injury, or even missing limbs, all he had to do was cast Heal or Regeneration. Their illnesses vanished, their wounds closed, and severed limbs were restored.

The entire process took less than five minutes, even though he also cast Prestidigitation around three times to clean each patient thoroughly.

People entered filthy and sick, but they left completely healed and spotless.

Every time he finished treating someone, they looked at him with awe. Those whose missing limbs had been restored were especially overwhelmed. Seeing their gratitude made Flinx genuinely happy. For the first time in a long while, he truly felt that he was using his power to help others.

After three hours, Millifred stopped accepting new patients and informed the villagers that the healer could treat only fifty people each day. Anyone who had not been seen would have to return the following day.

By the time Flinx finished healing for the day, the sun was already setting.

"What would you like to eat, young healer?" Old Millie asked.

She was preparing to head to the market to buy food. As agreed, Flinx never bothered asking how much money she had earned that day. She would keep all of the proceeds to support her work as a healer, with a portion paid to the mayor as taxes.

"You don't need to feed me. I have my own food. Just show me to my room," Flinx replied.

He had no desire to eat whatever the old healer planned to prepare. If he were being honest, the meal she had served him, Reuben, and Noman earlier had been atrocious.

Old Millie merely shrugged and led him upstairs to one of the rooms on the second floor.

After opening the window, she left without another word.

The room was filthy, with dust covering nearly every surface. Flinx could only sigh. Millifred was elderly, so it was understandable that she lacked the energy to maintain the entire house. At least the treatment room was kept clean.

Using several casts of Prestidigitation, Flinx spent the next few minutes cleaning every corner of the room until it was spotless.

Once he finished, he spread his thick sleeping bag over the lumpy mattress. Autumn had already brought a chill to the air. Although the room lacked a fireplace, his blankets were more than enough to keep him comfortable. Besides, he had always preferred colder weather.

Next, he retrieved his rechargeable solar lamp from his fourth tab space and placed it on the table beside the bed. He then purchased a lavish meal from the System Shopping Site and ate in peace. After finishing, he thoroughly cleaned himself with Prestidigitation.

He would have preferred a hot bath or shower, but since neither was available, magic was a perfectly adequate substitute.

Afterward, he chatted with his friends back on Earth about his experience as a healer.

The truth was, they envied the confidence he had in openly displaying his abilities. Flinx was powerful enough that he no longer feared what a small village could do to him.

When the others had traveled through Ilinestor, they constantly restrained themselves from performing acts of charity, whether by healing people with magic or using the System Shopping Site to provide food. At the time, they had all been only level three or four, making them roughly as strong as silver-ranked adventurers. Becoming involved in local politics while that weak would have been dangerous.

"That boon that doubled our experience gain was truly an incredible gift from that gate," Samuel wrote in the group chat.

Everyone agreed.

Without that blessing, Flinx would never have leveled quickly enough to send everyone back to Earth.

Through the chat, Flinx also learned that those who had brought magical healing items had been quietly using them to treat patients. As a result, stories of miraculous recoveries spread rapidly. Since most of the treatments took place at Paul's hospital—the only facility capable of operating discreetly thanks to Paul's connections—thousands of people flocked there within only a few days.

Flinx shook his head after reading the messages.

After finishing his conversation with his friends, he briefly considered contacting Olivia, Christopher, or Ambrose, but ultimately decided against it.

Instead, another thought occurred to him.

Why not contact David, Arcios, Keero, and Violet using Telepathy?

He wondered why he had never considered it before. Perhaps because they were inside the Mage Guild, he had subconsciously assumed they were somehow beyond his reach.

Since it was still early, he decided to test the spell.

"David, it's me, Flinx. I'm using a spell to contact you. Can you hear me?"

"Flinx?! Is it really you? I'm so glad to hear from you!"

The excitement in David's thoughts was unmistakable, immediately putting Flinx at ease.

David's reaction suggested that everything was going well at the Mage Guild, but Flinx asked anyway.

"How are things there?"

"The four of us are doing great! We're learning so much! Thankfully, you made us learn our letters first. All four of us can cast cantrips now!" David replied enthusiastically.

Over the next several minutes, David excitedly described everything they had been doing at the guild. Eventually, he hesitantly asked whether they could access the savings account Flinx had established for them.

"Why?"

"We need to buy spellbooks."

"The money I left wasn't enough?"

"No... I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I'll return to Ilioven tomorrow and visit the guild. I'll provide enough money for spellbooks for all four of you."

David remained silent for several seconds.

Finally, he sent a simple thank you.

Despite its brevity, Flinx could clearly feel the overwhelming gratitude behind the words.

After saying goodbye to David, Flinx explained that he also wanted to speak with Arcios, Keero, and Violet.

The other three children reacted much the same way David had. Their stories were nearly identical, and Flinx patiently listened to each of them. Before ending the conversations, he assured them that he would bring enough money the next day to purchase every spellbook they needed for their studies.

After speaking with all four children, Flinx felt reassured that the Mage Guild was treating them well.

He sincerely hoped that remained the case.

Otherwise, there would be consequences.

More than likely, the guild understood that as well.

With all of his conversations finished, Flinx opened the novel he had been reading and spent the next few hours immersed in The Saga of Recluce by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

He was falling in love with the first book, The Magic of Recluce. He liked the slow pace of the story, especially the part wherein the main character was crafting woodwork.

The magical concept was intriguing, and the morality and balancing of the magic system was thought-provoking. By the time he had finished a third of the book, Flinx had accepted the fact that more than likely, he would complete the massive saga.