Driving down the mountain, I thought about what still needed doing. First stop, visiting the Gate—refill mana and practice the two spells I’d bought.

  What else?

  More ability points. I spent all the points I earned. At this rate, I’d least awenty, maybe even more.

  Now that the life insurance has cleared, maybe it’s time to buy what I’ll need for the journey?

  A broken motorcycle y on its side, smoke rising into the air. Adrenaline jolted me out of my thoughts. I veered over, the car jerking to a stop on the shoulder. Without a sed thought, I leaped out, the car door swinging wide behind me as I jogged toward the wreck.

  I sed the area for the rider, notig the motorcycle pieces spread on the road and the skid marks. My eyes followed the trajectory, fog on the pce where the bike had smmed into the guardrail, leaving scars oal.

  But where was the rider?

  Desperate for any sign of movement, I examihe area thhly. Just beyond the guardrail, a path of broken branches and torn leaves sloped downward like nature poihe way—a grim trail doweep ine. Fumbling for my phone, I dialed emergency services, my eyes locked owisted path through the brush. As soon as the dispatcher firmed help was on the way, I shoved the phone bato my pocket and looked down, following the trajectory of the broken branches. How long would it take them to get here? I checked my watch again and again; the seds stretched, and my urgency rose. My hands gripped the guardrail, swinging me over and onto the steep slope beyond.

  Sliding down, branches scratched my arms, and the sharp tang of iron reached me before he came into view. There he was—a broken figure wedged between a boulder and a tree, his skin pale and blood poolih him, spreading fast. . That was bad. I k beside him and pressed my fio his neck. The pulse was barely there, a slow beat that matched his shallow breathing. His skin was ice cold. I couldn’t waste a sed; this guy was fading fast.

  First aid wouldn’t be enough—not with how quickly life drained from him. My training ran through my mind instantly: bandages, CPR, pressure points. None of it would stop the bleeding in time, and there wasn’t a defibriltor in sight.

  I needed more—something beyond medical protocol.

  My mind leaped to magic. Minor Heal fshed through my mind, and before I k, I cast the spell, pressing my trembling hand against his chest. Mana flowed from me into him, warm and steady.

  At first, I thought it was w. A cut on his forehead closed, the skin knitting together ly. But that was it. His pulse didn’t strengthen. His breathing didn’t improve. The blood beh him kept spreading.

  “e on,” I muttered, my voice crag with frustration.

  The spell wasn’t enough. It wasn’t meant for injuries like this. It fixed cuts and scrapes, maybe a broken bone or two, but not ruptured ans, and massive blood loss.

  With a ched jaw, I shoved my frustration aside. I o see the damage—to uand what was happening inside his body like I had doh my muscles before. With closed eyes, I steadied my breath, focused, and reached out with my io sense beyond what my eyes could see.

  Nothing. It was frustrating, but I had no iion of giving up. Magic follows ihat much I figured out already.

  Steeling myself, I took charge of my mana, direg it with raw determination as I poured it into him, urging it to “see.” The mana passed through him. trate. Iion. The mana seeped deeper, my focus sharpening until, piece by piece, the hidden damage in his body revealed itself. Fractures, ruptured ans, brain bleed, and a ulse—his body barely ging on. Ten minutes, maybe less.

  Something popped into my vision. Not now. I dismissed it and refocused on the injured man before me. Every sed ted. The faint pulse of his carotid artery, barely there, showed just how close he was to crossing that line. My mind quickly cataloged the most critical injuries I detected: a severe intraial bleed, and a fractured cervical spine. He shouldn’t have even beehing. This was a race against time—and everything I knew from the textbooks.

  I zeroed in on the brain bleed. Hemic pressure would build, squeeze delicate neural tissue, and cut off vital pathways. I poured mana into his head—visualizing the brain’s anatomy, the vessels, and the veins—and willed the bleeding to stop. It was a and, not a plea. Direct mana into the skull and e follows a careful path. My i was ser sharp, bending the magic tet the burst vessels and coax them closed.

  The magic resisted, like it had a will of its own, trying to slip away and disperse. I didn’t let it. This was life or death, and there was no room for rebellion. I pushed back, g down on my trol, feeling my mana struggle uhe strain like a bug bull. The bleeding slowed and stopped. Relief washed over me, but I couldn’t rex yet.

  Again, a pop-up in my vision. Not now, I thought firmly, pushed it aside, a my attention where it mattered.

  Mana: 580/3000.

  My heart sank when I sa my mana was. I couldn’t waste it. This guy’s life depended on a calcuted approach—first things first—the broken neck. My fingers brushed over the damaged vertebrae, visualizing the precise alig o restore stability and prevent further damage. Gently, I coaxed the bone fragments back together in my mind, picturing the cells knitting, aligning with my i. The mana flowed and again tried to escape my trol, but I didn’t let it. It shaped itself to my demands until I felt a subtle shift, a faint but solid click. Good. At least that was done.

  Mana: 530/3000. So far, so good.

  But the brain was still at risk. The bleeding may have stopped, but the pressure remained, a deadly force pushing against the delicate tissue. The cerebral matter couldn’t hold out long uhat strain. I focused hard, the surrounding tissues to absorb the blood. Slow, trolled. It had to be. The tissues swelled, uo hold it all. Too much. Any more, and they would rupture. My pulse raced. No su. No tools. Just mana. And this tig time bomb.

  Calm down. Think. Every sed ted. If I lost trol now, it was over. My mind raced. What to do? What to do!? Then, like a light bulb in my mind, aruck me.

  I cast Mana Dart, hoping it would work. But as soon as the spell formed, it shot off, slig into a tree and sh me with leaves. I gritted my teeth. Focus.

  I tried again, casting the spell while g down on it mentally and physically, feeling the dart’s desperate push to break free. The energy pulsed in my hand, straining to unch, like holding back a buzzing ser fragment. The spell was desigo unch a directed projectile, but I wasn’t about to let it.

  I tightened my grip, direg more mana into the dart, f it to remain in pce, feeling the resistan every energy tremor. Slowly, I molded it with my will like a sculptor w with cy. The tip extended and narrowed into a thinner, sharper edge. Every bit of focus went into refining that tip, making it share, to pee without tearing.

  Finally, with the dart elongated into a fiipped tool, I carefully alighe tip, pressed it to his skin, and breached it with a trolled puncture. It wasn’t an ordinary spell anymore but a precision instrument.

  Watg carefully, I mentally tched onto the pool of blood pressing against his brain and, with a push of mana, coaxed it toward the opening, guiding it out. The mana listeo me more now. There was still resistance, but it was weaker, and only for a sed. Drop by drop, the blood drained, relieving the pressure. I didn’t dare to breathe, sensing each pulse, each slow release, until finally, the st of it drained. As soon as all the blood was out, I eled more mana and willed the small wound to close, weaving the tissue back together. There was almost ance.

  Another red dot appeared in my vision—a pop-up notification, but I couldn’t afford distras. I mentally swiped it away again.

  Mana: 350/3000.

  Drained and dizzy, my hands shook, but I steadied them, took a deep breath, and focused o burst of mana. Pg my palms on his head, I trated on the general idea of healing, not targeting anything specific, but sending out a general force to stabilize him and push his body in the right dire.

  The st bit of mana poured out of me, leaving me empty and swaying. My vision blurred. Bd yellow spots danced in my field of vision. The world tilted at its axis. A heavy wave of exhaustion passed through me, draggioward oblivion. I breathed deeply, eahale pulling me back to reality. The spinning in my head finally stopped, and the spots in front of my eyes partially cleared.

  Mana: 50/3000.

  Another pop-up fshed in my vision. I shut my eyes, barely mustering the energy to think. Go away.

  I was running on fumes—magic couldn’t do any more here. With a deep breath, I grounded myself in what I knew best: hands-on care.

  My fingers went to his neck, feeling for any misalighat might still pose a risk, and I gently adjusted his head to keep his airway clear. His breaths were shallow but steady, a fragile rhythm I didn’t want to disrupt.

  Quickly, I moved to his limbs, assessing eae with careful pressure to pinpoint fractures or breaks. His left arm was bent at an unnatural angle. Gripping it firmly, I secured it against his side, fashioning a makeshift sling from the strips of fabric torn from a shirt to prevent further injury.

  , I worked on his leg, finding swelling around the knee—likely dislocated. I braced myself, then pulled it into alig with a quick, firm motion, seg it as best as possible with a broken arrow and strips of fabric. It wasn’t perfect, but it would hold until help arrived.

  Finally, I tore off a piece of cloth and pressed it to his abdomen, applyile pressure to slow the bleeding. With his injuries stabilized as much as possible, I kept my fingers on his pulse, ting each fai and willing him to hold on.

  The distant wail of sirens grew louder, cutting through my tension. I pulled my phone from my pocket, redialing the police station. As soon as the line ected, I spoke quickly, keeping my voice calm but urgent. “This is the caller from the motorcycle act. I’m with the rider, down the slope off the road. I’m a doctor—he’s in critical dition but stable for now. Let the responders know where to find us.”

  In moments, red and blue lights fshed through the trees above, and two paramedics climbed over the guardrail, hurrying down to where I crouched beside the injured man.

  One paramedic hurried over, speaking rapidly in German. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak German,” I interrupted, shaking my head.

  He blihen switched to ated English. “Sorry. Thank you for keeping him alive, doctor,” he said, eyes moving over the makeshift sling and the splint on the rider’s leg. “We take from here.”

  I stepped back to give them space. “Monitor fns of internal bleeding. Fractures in the left leg and arm, potentially the ribs as well. Signifit blood loss from an abdominal ceration.”

  The paramediodded, brow creasing as he took it in. “Yes, uood. We lift now,” he called to his partner.

  They slid a backboard beh the injured man, and as they secured him, I helped stabilize his neck, fastening straps over each limb. Together, we lifted him carefully, coordinating our movements. The climb up the slope was slow, and every step was measured to keep him steady.

  At the top, they transferred him onto the gurney, waiting by the guardrail. The ambunce’s lights bathed the road in a rotating glow as they wheeled him toward it. One paramediced back at me and gave a nod. “Thank you again, doctor. He is a bad injury, but with you help, he have ce.”

  I nodded back, the weight lifting from my chest as they loaded him into the ambuhe doors closed, and as the vehicle pulled away, I watched the fshing lights disappear into the distance, hoping he’d make it through.

  Warmth filled my chest as I watched the ambunce disappear, leaving me on the roadside with the police. In my nine years in the ER, I'd saved tless lives, but this felt different. It wasn’t just another case with a team of doctors ready to step in. Here, out in the middle of nowhere, it had been just me and him—his only shot.

  I gnced down at my hands, still stained with his blood. Magic sure had its uses. A dry chuckle escaped me as I shook my head. My mana was low—too low—and I o get to a Gate to recharge. The absurdity brought another chuckle out of me. I’d spent my whole life perfectly fihout mana. Yet here I was, worried my mana was too low and rushing to refill it. I grinned, half at myself and half at this bizarre new reality. Who would’ve thought I’d end up w about magical reserves?

  The poli looked at me strangely, and I straightened and schooled my features. Yeah, chug at the site of su act was bad form. I gave them my statement, answered endless questions, and they left.

  Ba the car, the lingering st of blood g to my clothes, mixing with the faint odor of the car—air freshener aher seats. The engine’s hum was a soothing sound that drowned out the chaos in my head. Each time headlights fshed past, my shoulders tensed. But the road pulled me back to reality, mile by mile.

  The adrenaline slowly faded away, and exhaustion pressed down on me. By the time I reached my hotel, every moveme heavy, as though my body had finally caught up with the night’s toll. But evehe damn red dot still fshed in my vision, nagging.

  “All right, all right. Let’s see what you’re trying to tell me,” I said, dropping onto the bed and pig up the room service phone. A strong coffee and a quick shower were in order before dealing with whatever these notifications had in store for me.

  A short while ter, a steaming cup arrived, filling the room with the rich st of caffeine. I settled back, coffee in hand, and finally gave my full attention to the persistent messages, ready to dig through them one by one.

  You have learhe spell [Diagnose]

  You have learhe spell [Stop Bleeding]

  You have learhe spell [Heal Bone]

  You have learhe skill [Minor Spell Adaptation]

  You have learhe spell [trol Blood]

  You have learhe spell [Healing Touch]

  Nice!

  You have shotitude for healing and learned six spells from the Healer Css without purchasing them.

  New css unlocked: [Healer]

  Would you like to take the Healer Css as your sub-css?

  Note: Due to your achievement, you take the Healer Css without spending ability points, and the css’s tier will equal that of a primary css.

  aking this Css will allow you to use the banked adva.

  Y/N

  I never pressed Yes so fast in my life.

  Would you like to dispy your Healer Css as your primary css?

  Y/N

  Yes, again. I was worried about what to dispy instead of Gate Traveler. That solved it.

  The red dot was still there.

  Level up+3 intelligence, +3 wisdom, +2 vitality, +3 free pointsCss: Healer Level 2Free points: 3

  Level up+3 intelligence, +3 wisdom, +2 vitality, +3 free pointsCss: Healer Level 3Free points: 6

  There were no more messages, so I opened my profile to get more info.

  PERSONAL INFORMATION

  Name: Je: 37

  Css: Gate Traveler Level 1Gates to the level: 0/3Css Abilities:

  ?   version

  ?   Travelers’ Archive

  ?   Identify

  ?   Ste X2 (512m3)

  ?   Local Adaptation

  Spoken Language

  ?   One of the Crowd

  ?   Traveler’s Map

  Css: Healer Level 3Healer Spells:

  Heal Muscles (12)

  Diagnose (1)

  Stop Bleeding (1)

  Heal Bone (1)

  trol Blood (1)

  Healing Touch (1)

  General Spells:

  Mana Dart

  Mana Shield

  General Skills:

  ?   Staff Fighting (10)

  ?   Krav Maga (10)

  ?   Archery (10)

  ?   Minor Spell Adaptation (1)

  Health: 1,750/1,570Mana: 52/3,000

  Strength: 17Agility: 16stitution: 10Vitality: 25Intelligence: 21Wisdom: 16Perception: 8

  Trait points: 6Ability points: 0

  I clicked on the Healer css line.

  Healer

  This is a on and well-respected css.Healers are capable of treating any injury or disease but require specialized spells for more plex ditions, such as poisoning or curses.The css provides three starting spells upon acquisition and grants an additional spell every five levels.When a Healer maxes out a spell at level 25, they seleother spell from the list to level up.Healers have an easier time learning spells from the Life and Nature disciplines.

  Each level grants +3 intelligence, +3 wisdom, +2 vitality, +3 free points.

  I checked my profile again, but didn’t see the three promised spells. A cli the spell line, and a message appeared:

  gratutions on receiving the [Healer Css]

  You received the following spells:

  Assess—you already have a higher version of this spell. A new option was added.

  Minor Heal—you already have a higher version of this spell. A new option was added.

  ralize Poison

  Purify

  When I closed the message, the new spells appeared uhe Healer css. I checked them one by one, including the Heal Muscles that I never actually checked before.

  Heal Muscles

  A targeted healing spell desigo repair and rejuveraiorn, or damaged muscles. Its focused nature makes it a reliable option for those who suffer from repetitive strain or physical trauma without affeg other tissues. Its effectiveness improves slightly with each level.

  Diagnose

  An essential diagnostic spell that allows the caster to identify injuries, illnesses, and physical abnormalities within a target's body. Diagnose provides detailed insights into the dition, including fractures, internal bleeding, iions, ical ailments. The spell’s accurad the depth of its findings improve slightly with each level.

  Stop Bleeding

  A lifesaving spell that halts both internal aernal bleeding. Stop Bleeding quickly seals veins and arteries, stabilizing the target and preventing further blood loss in emergency situations. While it doesn’t heal injuries, it buys crucial time for further treatment or healing. Its reliability increases slightly with each level.

  Heal Bone

  A focused healing spell for repairing fractures, breaks, and other boed injuries. Heal Boabilizes and knits boissue, redug the risk of long-term damage or improper healing. This spell is particurly useful for adventurers or warriors rec from bat injuries. Its effectiveness improves slightly with each level.

  trol Blood

  A versatile spell that grants the caster limited trol over the flow and behavior of blood within a target's body. trol Blood be used to enhance circution, prevent clotting, or even redirect blood flow to save critical areas. While it doesn’t heal injuries, its utility in stabilizing life-threatening ditions makes it invaluable. Its preproves slightly with each level.

  Healing Touch

  A more advanced general healing spell that mends a wide range of injuries and ailments, from fractures and cuts to internal damage and moderate diseases. Healing Touch delivers powerful restorative effects, making it a superior choice for critical injuries or severe ditions. Its effectiveness improves slightly with each level.

  Minor Spell Adaptation

  A versatile support skill that enhances a caster’s ability to adjust spells for unique circumstances. Minor Spell Adaptation allows small modifications to existing spells, such as altering their range, duration, or target area. While the adjustments are subtle, they provide valuable flexibility in dynamic or uable situations. Its adaptability improves slightly with each level.

  As I read through the new spells, eae felt like a punch to the heart—a painful reminder of what could have been if things had been different. My fists ched so hard my knuckles turned white, and my joints cracked. A familiar hollow ache spread through my chest. If I had these powers a year ago, I could’ve healed Sophie. The thought cut me to ribbons, tearing wide wounds full of anger a.

  It felt like a cruel joke—the universe gave me these abilities only when they couldn’t help the person who most hem. My legs buckled, and I sank onto the bed. Tears spilled over as my fists hit the mattress. Anger and helplessangled into a raw, broken release I couldn’t hold back. I cried until the grief finally ebbed, leaving only a hollotanothing could ge the past. Not even magic.

  The day, I woke up feeling wiped out but dead set on moving forward. Instead of verting my new free stats into ability points, I put them all into Perception. It was my lowest stat, and I wao uand it better. The moment I assighe points, a mild wave of dizziness washed over me, simir to the disorienting feeling when stepping off aor too abruptly. It passed in an instant. My vision sharpened, and everything looked more real—more solid and present.

  Colors seemed brighter, each shade more distinct. Edges were more sharp and precise, like someone ged the world to HD. I could make out soft footsteps outside my door and the murmur of voices as they passed. A faint st of detergent on my clothes became more pronouhe lightest breeze drifted in through the window, cool on my skin, mixing with the distant hum of street noise, and the traces of toothpaste in my mouth made themselves known. The ge wasn’t as dramatic as I expected. To my deepest regret, no eagle vision or bionic hearing maed. But my perception of the world sharpened—like everything was “more there.”

  Curiosity got the best of me, so I checked my profile for anything else besides the Healer css. My health went up a bit, but it didn’t seem lio any of my stats, which left me scratg my head. The numbers didn’t refley specific stat.

  Then my eyes stopped on the six new points in Intelligence, which, acc to the books I read, should have meant a rise in mana. But my total mana hadn’t ged. This didn’t follow fantasy logic. I leaned back, frowning, and tried to figure out the ges or the ck thereof.

  All right, let’s figure you out, I thought, reag for my staanuals.” There had to be something I’d missed. Maybe intelligence affected mana in some stories, but not all? Plus, most stories linked Vitality or stitution to health. I had both, but the numbers didn’t add up.

  Sadly, another day of research didn’t yield as.

  With a sigh, I closed the st book, feeling as fused about these stats as I had this m. If none of these “manuals” had a straightforward answer, maybe the only way to uand them was to live with these ges.

  There was no point ihinking it for now. I’d e back to it eventually, but right now, I had a jouro prepare for. Frankfurt awaited, and I didn’t have time to figure out every stat. I tucked the iPad away, took o look around the room, and stored everything in my magical Ste, ready to move on.