Acupuncture (3)
Holy magic. A magic that consumes Divine Power rather than mana. It borrows the power of God to heal and purify people. It repels entities that exude evil energy and protects innocent people from them. This wondrous, miraculous act—noble by its very definition—compels those who witness it to acknowledge the existence of a transcendent being called "God."
Strictly speaking, I didn't believe in the existence of God. In reality, that is. But here, things were different. There was no point in arguing over personal beliefs; it was already a self-evident truth. The Main God and the Demon God. The Main God was a benevolent deity who bestowed Divine Power upon the priests who devoutly served Him. The Demon God, then, was obvious. It was safe to simply view Him as the god of the demons. Although there were occasionally fanatical humans who worshipped the Demon God and served the demons, generally speaking, humans worshipped the Main God, and demons worshipped the Demon God.
In truth, one didn't need to live a life of devout piety like a priest. The deity's influence on the mortal realm was limited, so unless you found yourself in a life-or-death crisis crying out God's name at the very last second, you could get by just fine. However, the Holy Kingdom was different. Most of its citizens devoutly served the Main God. Divine Power was a mysterious force, and while not every citizen could wield it, the proportion of priests hailing from the Holy Kingdom was exceptionally high.
In this noble Holy Kingdom, there was a man who had been framed and exiled. His name was Antony. He had been a prominent merchant running a large-scale business in the Holy Kingdom. He possessed excellent business acumen and, like a true citizen of the Holy Kingdom, was a devout man before the Main God. Although his wife had passed away early, the fruit of their love—his daughter—remained by his side, allowing him to live a happy, comfortable life.
How peaceful this story would have been if a certain high priest of the Holy Kingdom had also lived like Antony, content and grateful for what he had. As was often the case, just because someone could borrow the power of the benevolent Main God didn't mean they possessed a benevolent heart. No, perhaps that high priest had initially praised the Main God and offered prayers with pure intentions. But human greed is not so easily tamed. The high priest was greedy. Exceedingly so.
Antony, wealthy and deeply faithful, caught the attention of those cunning, snake-like eyes. As a merchant, Antony had plenty of money. Under the pretext of preparing offerings for God, the high priest demanded a massive sum of money—in simpler terms, a bribe. Antony's faith in the Main God was profound. If it were truly an offering for the deity, he was ready to surrender it at any moment, in accordance with His will and desires. But Antony was also a businessman. Quick-witted as he was, there was no way he could fail to see through the high priest who had suddenly shown up, wagging his sly tongue.
It would have been easier to just pay the money and move on. However, because Antony was a deeply devout believer, he refused to yield to a greedy high priest who had betrayed the will of God. In the end, Antony could not overcome the sheer authority wielded by the high priest. The venomous high priest found it utterly intolerable that a mere merchant dared to defy him. Ultimately, he framed Antony, confiscated his assets, and banished him from the Holy Kingdom.
Thus, Antony fled to another country with what little wealth he had managed to salvage, but his business did not thrive as it once had. This was due to the fallout from the rumors of his banishment. The high priest's influence reached far beyond the borders of the Holy Kingdom. Still, because he was a man who always lived with gratitude for what he was given, he worked hard, watching over his growing daughter. Regrettably, that was only until his daughter fell bedridden.
Watching his daughter, who had contracted an unknown illness and could not even stand properly, he sought out nearby priests. It was in vain. The priests avoided him, unable to defy the high priest. The malicious rumors about him had already spread far and wide. Even when he declared that he would give away his remaining fortune of two thousand gold—everything he had left—not a single soul reached out to help him.
From the priests who wielded Divine Power to the local herbalists, the only people who swarmed around him were quacks and swindlers who knew nothing of illnesses or medicine. And so, he lived day by day, guarding the bedside of his daughter, who showed no signs of waking. This was the story of the devout Antony, who would later become the Saintess's financial supporter.
Once the current generation's Saintess learned the truth behind this incident, she would oust the high priest through internal politics and immediately seek out Antony to heal his daughter. Following that, Antony's business would flourish once more, and he would willingly take on the role of the Saintess's primary benefactor.
This was an anecdote from the Saintess's storyline, and while playing the game, a question had crossed my mind: Could the player resolve this first? It was a question born from knowing the game's depth and its high degree of freedom. If the player visited his daughter and cured her, wouldn't they receive the reward? My hypothesis had been correct.
As long as the player controlled a character with Divine Power, like a priest or a paladin, and exceeded a certain level, they could cure Antony's daughter. The reward could be claimed just the same. After posting this walkthrough on the game community, I encountered a comment: "Can you only do this as a priest or paladin?" Prompted by that, I decided to find a way to cure her without Divine Power. Ultimately, after multiple playthroughs, I found the answer: acupuncture.
The illness his daughter suffered from was a rare condition called Mana Exhaustion. Normally, Mana Exhaustion refers to a state of unconsciousness that occurs when all the mana in one's body is depleted. While Mana Exhaustion was strictly a status ailment, his daughter suffered from a chronic form of it—a full-blown illness where the exhaustion persisted, keeping her in a continuous coma.
Knowing that Mana Exhaustion could be cured with acupuncture in the game, I had attempted it. No other medical techniques worked. But even with acupuncture, there was a level restriction. The requirement was an Acupuncture skill level of 5 or higher. Healing Antony's daughter even involved a mini-game. As the character treated her, the player had to listen to the character's internal monologue, locate the pressure points, and insert the needles in the exact order.
I still remembered the process, but my Acupuncture skill was only level 1.
"If it really doesn't work out... I'll have no choice but to invest my remaining skill points."
Raising the skill level would rapidly improve my proficiency. Even though there was a gap of four levels, I felt that if I placed the needles precisely according to the order and locations I remembered, it should be fine. Night had already deepened. Donning my familiar robe, I slipped out of the academy unnoticed, just as I always did.
"Ah, Goddess Henerys. Why do you test me with such trials?"
Antony was in despair. Yet, he did not resent her. Antony believed that all of this was unfolding according to the Goddess's will. But even with such firm faith, there was nothing he could do to ease the boundless agony in his heart.
Antony blankly caressed the face of his daughter lying beside him. In a corner of the room, a beautifully painted portrait of Antony's late wife hung face-down against the wall. He simply couldn't bear to look at her face. His heart was filled with nothing but apologies to her.
"..."
His daughter lay peacefully in bed, showing no signs of waking. He could still vividly picture her running toward him with a bright smile, calling him "Father"—having matured early, perhaps because she had lost her mother so young. A single lamp, dimly lit in the dark room, cast a quiet glow. He had been watching over his daughter for a long while.
Knock, knock.
It was the knock of the maid who, despite his attempts to send her away, had refused his offer to leave and insisted on serving him until the very end. Antony resolved that if his daughter were ever cured, he would surely repay her someday.
"Come in," Antony said.
The maid opened the door and entered. Stepping into the room, she bowed slightly and got straight to the point.
"Someone has arrived claiming they can cure Lady Emilia. However... he appears to be blind."
"A blind man?"
"A snow-white bandage was wrapped around his eyes."
"How did a blind man manage to find his way here?"
"He said he asked passersby for directions and navigated his way here. From what I gather, he seems to possess a mysterious power called Qi Sensing. He didn't even appear to be carrying a cane."
"Hmm... Qi Sensing..."
"I let him in as you instructed, Master—that we should never turn away anyone who claims they can cure Emilia, no matter who they are. What would you like to do?"
Antony let out a low groan at the maid's words. Lately, those who came claiming they could cure his daughter were quacks who didn't know the first thing about medicine. Some of them had even tried to swindle him. They wouldn't even mention the name of the illness, instead demanding money upfront under the guise of treatment costs, or spouting utter nonsense. But a blind man? And what on earth was this "Qi Sensing"?
"Is our guest... in the parlor?"
"Yes, Master."
"I will go greet him myself."
Antony thought that perhaps this blind man possessed some other extraordinary ability, just like his "Qi Sensing." At his response, the maid stepped back from the door and bowed. Antony left the room and headed toward the parlor where the guest was waiting. Since the house was nowhere near as spacious as his former estate in the Holy Kingdom, it took only a few steps from his room to reach the parlor.
As he entered the parlor, he saw a dark-haired blind man with a bandage covering his eyes, sitting quietly on the sofa. Just as the maid had said, there was no cane to be seen. The blind man, who carried only a small backpack, turned his head toward Antony, seemingly noticing his approach by the sound of his footsteps.
"Your hearing must be exceptionally sharp."
"Perhaps the Goddess took pity on my loss of sight and left my other senses intact."
The blind man spoke in a clear, somewhat youthful voice. He did not look old at all. Even with the bandage obscuring his face, he appeared to be quite young.
"Haha. That is indeed a blessing... I am Antony. If you do not mind, may I ask your name?"
The blind man seemed to ponder Antony's question for a moment before speaking.
"I do not have a name worth sharing. You may simply call me 'the acupuncturist.'"
"An acupuncturist...? Do you practice acupuncture?"
Antony's eyes flashed at the mention of acupuncture. Not only had no one capable of acupuncture ever visited before, but a highly advanced skill like acupuncture would immediately expose a fraud. It was a terrible choice of cover for a swindler.
"Yes. Though my skills are humble, I came in the hope that I might be of some help."
The blind man scratched the back of his head as he replied. Even so, Antony had dealt with far too many swindlers. It was difficult to trust him right away. Moreover, it was acupuncture. To his knowledge, acupuncture was a technique that involved inserting needles into a patient's body to treat them. Simply put, needles would pierce a person's flesh. Done incorrectly, it would only cause injury and pain. Thus, Antony had no choice but to make a request, even though he knew it was rather rude to ask of someone who had come to treat his daughter.
"If you do not mind, could you demonstrate your acupuncture on me first?"
Antony intended to test the blind man before him to see whether he was a fraud.