After receiving a heavy punch from Shin Asakura, Kael Yuuma finally lost consciousness. His body weakened, and his awareness slowly faded amidst the cheers and jeers of the palace nobles.
Not long after...
On the direct orders of the King, the royal guards dragged Kael's helpless body out of the palace. They took him far beyond the city, into a forest known as a nest of wild and dangerous monsters.
"Dump him here," said one of the guards in a flat voice.
"He won't last long anyway. Useless healer," added another with a cold laugh.
Without any mercy, they threw Kael's body onto the hard ground, full of roots and rocks. Then they turned and left, abandoning him in the dark forest without any protection.
Morning came.
Sunlight pierced through the gaps between the tall trees, touching Kael's face as he slowly began to stir.
"Ugh… Where… am I?" he muttered weakly, opening his eyes with great effort.
His body was still sore, especially where Shin's punch had landed. He held his throbbing head and slowly pulled himself up, leaning against the nearest tree.
"Ugh… it hurts so much…" he groaned.
Still half-conscious, Kael raised his hand and opened his magic status panel, which appeared as a transparent screen before him.
Ding!
A green glowing panel appeared in front of him, displaying his simple statistics as a Low-Rank Healer.
Kael looked at it doubtfully, his face gloomy. But behind those eyes, a new spark of determination began to grow...
Though he was scorned and thrown away like trash, Kael had not given up.
Suddenly, a loud growl came from Kael's stomach, echoing through the silence.
"Ugh… I'm starving…" he groaned weakly, clutching his stomach and looking around. There was nothing but thick trees and tall bushes. No food, no sign of humans.
But then, in the next moment, a large figure emerged from behind the bushes, its glowing red eyes glaring hungrily.
"GRAAAWR!!"
A massive bear-like monster with razor-sharp claws and drool dripping from its fangs appeared, growling with bloodlust.
Kael's eyes widened. His heart began to race.
"Wh-Why is there a monster here!?" he shouted, stepping back.
His body was still weak from hunger, but fear pushed him to stand.
"I… ha… have to run!!" he yelled in panic, turning around and running with all his might, even though his steps were unsteady.
Wet leaves slapped his face, branches scraped his skin, but Kael kept running… for his life.
But the monster wasn't about to let him escape.
With a ferocious roar, the giant bear leapt toward Kael, its claws raised high, ready to tear him apart.
"N-No time to dodge…!!" Kael screamed in his mind.
THUD!!
The sharp claw struck Kael directly in the chest. Instinctively, he raised his arms to block the attack, but his strength was no match. His body was sent flying and crashed hard into a tree trunk.
"AAARRGGHH…!! IT HURTS!!" Kael screamed at the top of his lungs as pain exploded from his right arm and spread throughout his body.
His breathing was ragged. His face turned pale. Yet he still forced himself to open the healing panel.
[Healing]... a faint green light surrounded his body.
The wounds on his body began to slowly close… but when he tried to move his right arm...
"…It won't move…?" he whispered, breath hitching.
Though the wounds had healed, his right arm remained paralyzed, as if the muscles and bones were too damaged.
Still, Kael gritted his teeth, enduring the pain.
His eyes still burned with resolve.
"I… can't die here… not yet…"
Alone, scorned, and just a low-level healer, Kael had no intention of giving up his life in.