novelAzell Zestringer (3)
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Chapter 3 - Azell Zestringer (3)
Currently, Azell looked a lot better than before after he was re-hydrated. However, he still looked like a monster.
The soldier, who was guiding Azell, spoke.
"Centurion Giles wants you to give him check up."
'Check up?'
Azell tilted his head to one side. He had no idea what this word was.
Previously, he trained his ears to listen to the words spoken around his surrounding, and it was a common occurrence for him to not understand the words. The diction and intonation were the almost identical to what he knew. In his perspective, it seemed like he was persistently hearing a segment of a dialect, and within that he heard words he didn't know mixed in it.
An example was 'army doctor'. In Azell's time, this post of army doctor did not exist in the army. A priest, who had learned the healing arts from the temple, followed the army around.
It was the same with the word 'check up'. When a healer looked at a patient, there never was a specialized term for it. Therefore, whenever Azell heard their conversation, he had a strange delayed reaction as if he had a hard time understanding it. It was because he was trying to guess the meaning of the words he didn't know.
'What's happening? Is it because I'm somewhere I have never visited before? Or.... '
While Azell was thinking on this, the army doctor spoke.
"Mmm. Who is this person and where did you bring him from?"
"That is...."
The soldier sparked explaining the circumstances. The army doctor frowned.
"Did he get experimented on with some kind of black magic?"
After hearing this, Azell started thinking.
'That's not bad?'
He could say he was kidnapped by a black magician. He was experimented on and it was something akin to torture. This caused him to be in this state, and he couldn't remember who he was. He could remember his name, but everything else was fuzzy and fragmented....
It would be a good enough excuse. It should be way more effective than giving the straightforward account of the truth?
The army doctor, who was looking at Azell with a bit of a frightful expression, put his hand on Azell's forehead. From the end of his hand, a warm light rose up and it was absorbed into Azell's body.
'He is a healing expert. '
Healing experts are an existence that is considered to be a variant of magicians. Normally, they would accumulate specially made medicine inside their body, and they were able to combine it with magical force to manifest it.
'I don't think he is a priest... '
In Azell's time, all the healing experts were the temple's priests and there weren't that many of them. However, the man in front of his eyes did not seem to have the occupation of a cleric.
'Did a healing expert, who was not a priest, apply to the army and secure an appointment as the army doctor?'
It was interesting. Before Azell fell asleep, only the temple's priests could use the healing arts, so they were respected even by people of high status. However right now, this man was not treated that way.
Soon, the army doctor clicked his tongue.
"How is he alive when he is in such a state?"
The healing experts could tell the state of the other's body by contact. Moreover, they could provide healing power to treat wounds and diseases.
The army doctor understood the state Azell was in and it was a miracle that he was even alive.
Also, he was able to maintain consciousness and walk on his own. He defied logic.
After being dumbfounded, he spoke to the soldier.
"You. This person.... He doesn't need anything except water and also feed him something."
"What?"
"He is in a state of extreme starvation. It is cannot say as to how he is able to maintain his consciousness. After seeing his terrible state, didn't you think about that?"
"That is... I was too scared to think about that."
"I guess he does look more like a monster than a human."
Azell was slightly wounded by the army doctor's words. They were calling him a monster, but his body had received the adulation of women once.
"Go to the kitchen and ask them to make something easily digestible. Something similar to a soup."
"Understood."
Also, bring it here since this person would have a hard time moving."
"Yes. However, he was able to walk here just fine.... ."
"So he didn't look like he was having a hard time?"
The soldier had nothing to say to those words.
After the soldier left, the army doctor spoke to Azell.
"Do you want to drink some water?"
Azell hurriedly nodded his head. Even though he had drunk a lot of water, it was still insufficient.
The army doctor spoke to him after seeing Azell carefully drink the water.
"I don't know who you are, but don't over do it even if you have learned the Spirit Order."
"......."
"It's scary, so don't look at me that way. I'm a healing expert. I, at the very least, know what my patient practices."
'No, I didn't look at you like that to make you scared.... '
Azell had only looked at the army doctor with an amused gazed. However, the army doctor mistook it for a defensive glare.
'How messed up am I.... . '
Now he wanted to see himself at least once. Azell spoke.
"Large dish... Could you... give me some water.... ?"
"Mmmm? Why? No, never mind. I'll give it to you."
The army doctor stopped Azell from arduously answering back and he filled the wash basin with water. Azell flinched at the reflection he saw of his face on the surface.
'Waa, I'm like a real monster?'
He felt like it was fair that he was being treated like a monster. He wanted to give praise to Giles' personality, because he had treated him like a person from the first time he saw him.
'Shit. Where did my body that was like a marble statue go to... '
He thought about how he looked like in the past, and compared it to his current appearance. He wanted to cry.
'At the very least, my hair didn't fall out. '
The red hair, even Azell fancied, was grown out. It was very disheveled, so it was ungainly.
The army doctor spoke.
"You didn't know what you looked like?"
Azell nodded his head.
The army doctor spoke.
"Mmmm. I don't know what you went through, but it must have been abnormally hard."
Soon the soldier brought a hot soup. Azell took it and he started slowly eating it one spoon at a time. It was only soup, but every spoonful he ate brought changes to his body. It was a small amount of moisture and nutrition, but his vitality returned visibly.
The army doctor spoke after carefully observing his figure.
"I'm Rick Boran. What is your name?"
He was about to answer immediately, but he paused after a thought suddenly came to him. He put his hand on his forehead and frowned.
"Name......"
"Yes. Name."
"Azell.... . Zestringer.... . ?"
"Azell Zestringer?"
"Maybe.... ."
He answered vaguely because he wanted to give the impression that he was unsure about his memories. Moreover, Zestringer was his original last name. Originally, he was a commoner. After he had toppled the Dragon Demon King Atein, he was give the title of Duke Karzark for his accomplishments. Afterwards, he was called Azell Karzark in public and private.
Rick questioned him.
"Maybe.. You aren't sure about your memory?"
Azell nodded his head. Rick frowned.
"You must have been severely worked over."
"Magician...."
"Mmm?"
"A magician.. me... I don't remember much... but.... ."
"Ah."
Rick's expression grew darker.
He said these words without thinking too much about it, so in reality he felt guilty. If Azell had really suffered what he said then it wouldn't be something he would mention lightly.
Of course, this was what Azell was aiming for. Azell looked at the other's expression, and he inwardly gave an apology.
'I'm sorry. However, this is easier for you to accept it. '
Rick spoke with a sympathetic expression, without realizing Azell's dark inner thoughts.
"Mmm. Please rest easy in this barrack tonight. I'll ask the soldier to bring the dinner here. At this time, I can't really do anything else for you."
Azell nodded his head.
4
Azell ate two servings of soup and water that day before he went to sleep. Truthfully, he wanted to eat more, but Rick decided he shouldn't eat too much. Even though he was still hungry, it would give him a stomach ache.
'It's a sensible decision so I can't say anything. '
Azell was sure that he would be fine even if he ate way more food.
Although his energy had dried up, the body control he had earned through learning the Spirit Order was still there.
However, he couldn't explain his situation, so he could only follow directions without saying anything.
However after just one day, Azell's appearance changed drastically. A little bit of life returned to the skin that was once dry and splitting. His body, which looked like leather over bones, filled out a little bit.
His body started recovering, and Azell monitored the exact situation of his body through meditation.
'This is so frustrating. '
All the power he had accumulated before his sleep was gone.
The muscle he had trained with tenacity was all gone, and the overflowing energy he had a hard time controlling was all dried up. The rings of life, which was considered the foundation of those who trained in the Spirit Order, was all extinct.
'Even the rings of life had disappeared. '
Even though his energy had dried up, he thought that his rings of life would still be there. However, in the process of maintaining the hibernation for a long period of time, the magical force that made up the rings of life was used.
How long has he been asleep? As time passed on, he became acutely curious about that fact.
Any ways, he had to start everything from the beginning. He had to fill his shrivelled up energy with magical force to give it life, and he had to construct the rings of life again. Only then would he recover his previous strength.
'Still should I consider it fortunate that the curse is gone?'
Carlos' prediction was correct.
Azell had imitated the dragon's hibernation, and he had slept for a long time. He succeeded in overcoming the curse. His body no longer had the Dragon Demon King's curse, which ate away at his life.
'Yes. This should be fine. '
Azell didn't expect anything more. He had already earned the benefit. He was curious about many things, but he decided to focus on one thing.
Immediately, Azell started retraining the Spirit Order.
The Spirit Order training involved forming mental images and one had to lead the mind and body into a constant state. (TLN: Form mental image of what you want, and try to sync the mind/body. ) In this state, one will resonate with mana in the atmosphere to produce energy. This energy is used to fill the energy pulse.
Mana.
It was an energy source that was abundant in the atmosphere. The warrior's Spirit Order, and the magician's magic were magical force produced from resonating the mind with mana.
It was revealed that the mana reacts to a strong will. This in turn allows the energy to be changed into any form.
This was how a magician is able to cause various phenomenons.
Ooh ooh ooh ooh oong...... (TLN: buzzing sound - like high voltage electricity humming through line)
The meditating Azell started to resonate with the mana. Rick was surprised, so he looked inside. Since he was a healing expert, he was also sensitive to the mana's movement.
"Is he training his Spirit Order?"
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