Chapter 23 Part 1 of 2 (Patreon)

“How are you feeling today?” Erik asked Kim Cheol, he was sitting in a chair next to his bed, hooked up to an IV drip looking out of the window at Alva.

“Stronger since last time, but just aches.”

Erik checked his charts.

“You been sleeping well?”

“Off and on, the pain can wake me up in the middle of the night.”

“I’m hesitant to use sleep aids and painkillers, the body can become too reliant on them.” Erik flipped the papers back down and hooked the clipboard back up.

“Ah, I knew what I was doing when I did it. I made it through which was more than I was expecting.”

“And you’ll be using that shield soon enough if I have anything to do with it,” Erik grabbed Kim Cheol’s wrist.

Organic scan.

His mana system was torn apart from the inside, crippling his mana cultivation. His bones are all cracked, theres scar tissue throughout his body. His muscles are like jello, only the constant drip of powerful stamina and healing concoctions are keeping him alive.

“How do I look doc?”

“You’re one of the few people that I would say your inside is scarier than your exterior and you could still crack a mirror with your smile.” Erik smiled, hiding his frustration and guilt.

“Thankfully we have been developing our techniques and understanding of a humans body in the ten realms. Your body is in a mess, but with time and concoctions you will recover and be stronger than ever.”

“Good thing I was never much of a mage,” Kim grinned.

“Well there’s no knowing you won’t be able to use mana. Today I’m going to be removing your scar tissue. With that out of the way, your body can heal faster. I’ll remove the scar tissue in your upper body and the blood clots that are forming. Then you’ll be on concoctions to heal up. Followed by Earth tempering. With Earth tempering you natural regeneration will peak and your body will be stronger than ever. You will then naturally start to rebuild your mana channels.”

“Sounds like a lot of work,” Kim said.

“I don’t think you’re the kind of person that would give up after a little bit of work,” Erik raised an eyebrow.

“Ah shit, well, better get started right?”

Erik went to the door and opened it. A team of medics came in with a hospital bed. They helped Kim stand and get onto the bed.

They headed out of the room and to the operating theatre.

“Thank you,” Kim Cheol said.

“Don’t thank me, I’m the one that made the decision that put you and everyone in danger. It is the least I can do.”

“Don’t think I haven’t heard of the blue eyed medic that’s been running around Vuzgal helping out my wounded and around this hospital. You were trying to do what you hoped was best for everyone. Now you’re putting us back together.”

“Wish that I didn’t have to.”

“Well, I’m going to get a body like Sky Iron, damn, never thought I’d be able to get such a high cultivation,” Kim Cheol grinned making Erik smiled a little.

They went into the operating theatre’s doors. Passing through a cleaning formation that pulled all the dirt and muck from their bodies and clothes upon entering.

Erik went to the side a nurse was there, she helped him get into his medical robe, adding goggles and a mask.

Erik was endowed with gloves as well.

He turned back to Kim Cheol, an assisting alchemist finished using a hand pump that burned powder to send one into a deep slumber.

A nurse stepped up, She connected into the second IV cannula set up on his left hand.

She hooked him up to a new potion while another nurse attached a breather to Kim as well.

The air being pumped in had aerolizd stamina potion. The newly hooked up potion entered his bloodstream as well.

Erik ran an organic scan as the nurses and medics moved around Kim, running checks, moving gear into position. The formations under the table were powered but laid slumbering a formation master stood at a command console with different formations to turn, to alter what happened, using the concepts of Julilah’s stack formations, Rugrat’s formation Sockets, Qin’s interlinking formations and dozens of other experts that had given their time over.

Erik could see Kim’s body was trying to heal itself. Where the necrotic and scar tissue filled his body, the healing ramped up, overworking his body and draining his stamina.

The new potion was working through his body, obliterating blood clots as it passed through his veins.

Erik used his organic scan to look through Kim Cheol’s body once more, locating the worst clumps of necrotic or scar tissue.

“Okay, ready on the retractors?” Erik looked at the nurse opposite.

“Ready.”

“Scalpel.”

He was handed the thin blade.

“Okay, as we talked about, the first place we’re going to target is his right thigh.”

Erik checked once again with his scan before he used the scalpel.

The Nurse moved in with the retractors, opening the inscision up.

“Forceps,” Erik held out his hand, feeling them land in his palm. He grabbed onto the necrotic tissue in Kim Cheol’s thigh with the forceps, using his scalpel he began cutting it away.

He removed sections of the blackened tissue, a nurse offered a bowl for him.

He deposited it and moved to the next dead tissue. He worked quickly and efficiently.

“Status.”

“Stable!”

He worked through the thigh.

“Lets seal him up. Muscle heal.” The muscles started to regrow and reform faster. Erik stopped when thin bands of muscles connected to one another. He went muscle by muscle the nurse releasing the retractors.

“Heal skin.”

The line down Kim Cheol’s leg closed up, becoming a pale thin line. I’ve only laid the framework, but his body can build upon that.

“How are we looking on stamina?”

“Eighty percent and increasing,” An alchemist reported.

“Okay, we’ll move to the other thigh and then to the left arm. I don’t like having so many problems near to the heart.”

Erik repeated the same process with the other thigh. He made multiple incisions so he didn’t have to cut through healthy tissue and prolong the healing process.

Time faded into the background as he worked.

He closed up the arm.

“Dipping to forty percent, recovering slowly,” The alchemist warned.

“Okay, I want a minimum fifty percent of stamina, crank up the healing formations once he surpasses that and balance.”

“Understood.”

“Okay everyone good work, there are still more tissue we need to removed from Mister Kim in the future but this is a good start.”

Erik left the operating room, moving to the clean room. He stripped out of his gear and washed his hands.

“Erik, Glosil is requesting your presence in the command center,” Egbert’s voice came through the ceiling.

“He say why?” Erik conjured flames on his hands, drying them.

“The Willful Institute is mobilizing and they appear to be targeting Vuzgal.

“Understood,” Erik passed through a clean formation. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

***

Rugrat watched the range as the shooters took their time to aim and fire. The sounds of shooting were thrown off cadence, following little pattern.

He dismissed the spell enhancing his eyes watching the shooters on the line, seeing how they were positioned. Range staff were behind them, watching.

The shooting died down as everyone cleared their weapon and held it out for inspection. The Range officers checked the weapons before holding a thumb out to Rugrat.

“Range clear! Everyone stand up!” Rugrat said.

Everyone got to their feet.

“Okay lets go and check out those targets.”

They walked towards their targets. It wasn’t mandatory shooting, just a fun shoot. Rugrat and Erik had introduced it.

Was only because I had the free time to work on my shooting at home in the backyard that I got good. If I had to rely on just the basic military shooting courses I could hit a target marginally better than a refualr person because of the time I’ve spent with a weapon. Though I wouldn’t be any kind of a good shot past a few hundred meters.

He had Five squads worth of people out on the range.

“How’s it going Lieutenant Acosta?” Rugrat asked as he neared one of the shooters.

“Not bad, I think that I got them all on paper at least,” She smiled as they kept walking.

“I don’t doubt that,” Rugrat grinned as they walked over the grassy ground. The range was attached to the first barracks, with formations, they could stop the noise from spreading to the rest of the floor and make sure none of the rounds went flying off and hit someone.

“You up for rotation soon?”

“Got my marching orders, there’s going to be an attack on a fourth realm location in a week. Whole Combat company is going. We’ll be dressed down though.”

“How are your people?”

“Eager, excited, scared, you know how it is,” Acosta shrugged. “I’m just glad we’re getting the opportunity. Some time or another they’re going to face a fight, best to get it into their bones now.”

“You just don’t want the CPD’s taking all of the jobs,” Rugrat laughed.

“Shit, I’d damn well jump into the CPD training rota next thing to get out there.”

They reached Acosta’s target. “So how did I do?”

Rugrat looked at the target.

“You’re looking good, haven’t forgotten what you learned in your sharpshooting course. You’d be an ace shot back on Earth with a grouping like that at three hundred meters.”

“Just we’ll be using bows and spells instead. I hope we don’t have to use rifles in the future.”

“Why?” Rugrat asked.

“Well if we’re using rifles something has gone horribly wrong.”

Rugrat saw motion as someone walked onto the range. He saw Colonel Yui walking over to the targets.

“And if a Colonel is looking for your ass, it is never a good sign,” Rugrat said out the corner of his mouth.

“Better you than me,” Acosta snorted.

“Aren’t you due for a promotion?”

“When we’re back, they’re  making me a Captain, gonna have my very own combat company, yay.” She turned to look at Yui Silaz walking at them.

“Well, congratulations on the impending promotion. Piece of advice,” Rugrat looked at her.

“Never become a lord of anything. You’ve got control of the range. Make sure people don’t start spontaneously forgetting how rifles work.”

He waved at Yui and walked over towards him. A hundred thoughts ran through his head, none of them good as he mentally reviewed the different units in the field. There were fourteen CPD Squads deployed, and a further five thousand Alva military personnel. Three hundred and twenty thousand Adventurer’s Guild members. Seven battlefields in total.