The Touch of Healing

Yujun and his companions raced onward on flight magic, though not at anything like their top speed. He matched their pace to Do Jiyun's.

Might as well put a trait gem to use while we're at it.

The trait gem and the Synchronization Marble — both spoils from subduing the Blood Lord. What he truly looked forward to were the items the marble would transfer across, but the synchronization still wasn't finished. Until it ran its course, all he could do was wait, however long that took. So he decided to deal with the trait gem first.

My traits, as they stand...

Three of them. Every other trait already had a gem socketed, so setting those aside, these were all that remained.

If it were only highest-grade, or even high-grade, I'd have saved it for a better trait.

Wait.

Now that he thought about it, he had picked up a Long-Aged Elixir after clearing the Illusion King's world. He hadn't taken it at the time because he wanted his luck higher first. Manuela, bearer of the skill Goddess's Grace (EX++), hadn't been at his side, so he had held off on swallowing it then and there. And now she was right beside him.

"Manuela."

"Hm?"

"I need you."

"......"

The bluntness of it sent Manuela's thoughts spinning for a moment. But she wasn't falling for it anymore. She knew by now that he said things like that all the time, with no particular intent behind them.

"What is it?"

"Goddess's Grace. Use it."

"Now?"

"Yeah. Now."

"Fine."

She didn't even ask why. Goddess's Grace came first.

This. This was what he had been waiting for. The rest of the effects didn't even register. His attention locked onto the line that said his luck had risen.

"Thanks."

"You needed the luck?"

"One hint and you've got it. As expected."

The luck blessing was his. There was no reason left to hesitate. He drew the Long-Aged Elixir from his inventory and glanced around. Anything that might jinx the result had already been ruled out. Reassured, Yujun swallowed it.

Gulp.

The elixir melted away the instant it went down.

What trait would it be? In truth, it was wiser not to expect too much. Traits from the elixir were random in the most literal sense. A D-grade could come out, plain and simple. His luck was far too high for that, but complacency was a luxury he refused.

Then the hologram window updated.

"Oh?"

The name alone didn't suggest anything tied to combat. Yujun read the description and swallowed a low sound of dismay.

"No matter how I look at it, this is a skill. Why is it filed as a trait?"

Heal at a mere touch, automatically — an ability no skill would be ashamed of. The difference, if there was one, was that Touch of Healing spent no mana whatsoever. Yujun lifted his hand.

So the healing is just sitting in my hand, even if I do nothing?

Healing with no mana involved at all. Did that even make sense? Honestly, he didn't believe it. He slid a sword into the gap of his arm guard.

Manuela, flying alongside and watching, went wide-eyed. Yujun paid her no mind.

What.

The cut on his hand vanished as if it had never been there.

Can I heal someone else, too?

He looked around in a hurry. His eyes met Manuela's, and he smiled. She recoiled in open disgust.

"No! Don't you dare!"

"How do you know what I'm about to do?"

"You're going to stab me with that sword."

"......I'm not. How could I do that to you."

Her instincts seemed to have hit their peak. He gave up on using her. There were other living things to experiment on anyway. Yujun took out the Absolute Sealing Orb.

Releasing Balrog not on the ground but high in the open sky — he couldn't pretend that didn't make him uneasy. So he prepared properly.

"Everyone, hold up for a moment."

"Why?"

Do Jiyun asked.

"Nothing major. We'll rest about three minutes, then go. I've got something to take care of."

"All right."

He cast Space Domination, then immediately broke Balrog's seal. In the instant his companions startled, Yujun drove his sword into the demon's abdomen without a word of warning. The blade sank in.

"Kehuk!"

He did not use Painful Strike. Balrog had already endured a horrific stretch inside the Absolute Sealing Orb, and that would have been too cruel.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing."

Bound by Space Domination, Balrog couldn't even thrash. Yujun set his hand against the wound. It was hardly different from touching through the armor's vambrace, but that, too, was something he wanted to test.

If it only works on bare skin, it might not be much use.

Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. Balrog's wound closed at a visibly startling speed. From the moment the hand touched it to the moment the flesh was whole again, not even ten seconds passed.

Even so, he couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠judge too quickly. Balrog's natural regeneration was exceptional to begin with.

Looks like the effect applies even without taking the gear off.

Yujun ran several more tests after that. Laid out roughly, what he learned came to this. Touch of Healing did nothing through an arm, a leg, or any other part of the body — only contact with the hand produced it. The effect applied in full even while he wore equipment. And it was stronger than he had expected.

This is huge.

There was no mana in it, no energy of any kind he could sense, and yet his hand alone drew out healing and regeneration beyond what a mid-to-high-grade potion could manage. He couldn't begin to grasp how. The Genius trait ought to have given him some sense of the principle, but he couldn't get a feel for it at all.

Then again, does the principle matter? The result matters more.

He couldn't say the Genius trait had nothing to do with how exceptional Touch of Healing was. Add the buffs from his various titles, the ones that amplified skills and traits, and all of it stacked into the Touch of Healing he had now.

"Well?"

"I-I'm fine."

Balrog said it while rubbing his belly.

"There's something else I want to check."

"......You're going to torment me again?"

The demon spasmed.

"I'm exhausted. If you must, do it later."

"Strike while the iron's hot. No resting."

"I said I want to rest!"

"Are you in any position to say that?"

Balrog had been summoned by Demon God Worshippers bent on driving the world to ruin. He was no benevolent being.

"I'll even take your circumstances into account while I run a live experiment on you...... No, that came out wrong. Right. Anyway. Endure it."

Yujun raised his sword. What he meant to confirm was whether the trait could ignore even Chaos — whether it could shut down Chaos's role of perfectly sealing a wound against regeneration. In his heart ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he doubted it would work, but he meant to try. He charged the blade with Chaos and pricked Balrog's skin, lightly. A small mercy. Then he set his hand on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the skin where a bead of blood welled up.

"Oh......?"

Slowly, but steadily, the wound began to close. It felt less like healing from Touch of Healing and more like the effect bound into the Chaos was being erased. Even so, it was astonishing.

Then something flashed through his mind. A change of approach. He charged his hand with Chaos, so that Touch of Healing and Chaos sat side by side, and reached out.

Where his hand met Balrog's chest, the flesh began to melt.

"What......"

"Gyaaaaaah!"

He snatched his hand back. The flesh that had been sloughing away firmed again. A little farther and he would have melted the heart. Yujun was shaken — but Balrog was shaken worse.

"What did you do to me!"

"That wasn't what I meant to do. Sorry."

Yujun looked down at his hand and quieted the Chaos.

"......So this works as an attack skill, too?"

It hadn't been a skill to begin with. Only a trait that let a healing effect settle into his hand. Mixed with Chaos, though, it had melted Balrog's body in a breath.

"Well, now......"

He couldn't tell which of the two was the strange one — Chaos, or Touch of Healing.

"Aaaah! Q-quick! Heal me, hurry......"

"Listen to you. I'm done. Back inside."

Yujun returned Balrog to the Absolute Sealing Orb. His end goal was to train the creature into obedience, and a half-hearted hand would never get him there. This was the time to be strict, and to swing the whip as hard as it would go. Not that he knew the first thing about how one actually trained a Balrog.

"Let's move again."

"What did you just do......?"

"Testing an ability."

"You were going to do that to me, weren't you."

"Again."

"Huuuh?"

"Misreading me again. What I just used is a healing ability. It isn't even a skill, it's a trait. If it did anything to you, it would help, not hurt."

"But Balrog was in agony."

"He dramatizes."

"......"

Yujun smiled, thoroughly pleased. Touch of Healing was worth studying further. If it proved formidable not only as healing but as an attack, he could ask for nothing more.

I was thinking I needed at least one healing skill, and this turned up nicely. A shame it's a trait and not a skill, but......

The performance was good. Better still, the effect could jump sharply depending on what he combined it with. Yujun settled into flight in earnest.

Whenever Do Jiyun looked ready to flag from lack of mana, he shared his with her. Whenever the strain seemed to be getting to her mind, he smoothed a hand over her head with Touch of Healing and let the fatigue vanish clean.

"Is this some new kind of torture......?"

Do Jiyun said it with her cheeks hollowed until skin clung to bone.

"Torture? I'm helping you so you don't fall behind."

Thanks to his unstinting support, the destination really wasn't far now.

"You'll be able to rest soon. Just a little longer."

"You look like you're off on a picnic. Why does it feel like I'm the only one in extreme training?"

"It's your imagination. You're doing wonderfully, Do Jiyun."

"Yes. Yes. I'll tell myself that. It'll be easier on me."

The moment they arrived, Yujun used a mid-grade trait gem on Touch of Healing. He had wavered between Swift Blade (SSS) and Touch of Healing (SSS), but after thinking it through he judged the latter the better choice. He still couldn't forget what Touch of Healing had done once it joined with Chaos. The shock of Balrog's chest melting away had, in the end, decided it. Yujun took out the trait gem.