Trouble

"There is a way."

The words left my mouth before I could think twice.

Everyone in the room went silent and looked at me.

"Youngin'..." Ryan called on me with a doubt full expression.

I stepped closer to the patient.

"Let me try."

Ryan Then his eyes narrowed.

"You know how bad that arm is."

"I do."

"And if this goes wrong..."

"I know the consequences."

I looked at the man's broken arm.

The bone had snapped badly.

Ryan had already examined it.

If we did nothing, the man's condition would only get worse.

And if Ryan removed the arm...

There would be no going back.

I took a slow breath.

"I'm not going to cut it off."

I looked at the patient.

"At least not yet."

The man's wife looked at me desperately.

"One look at her face tells me everything. There is only one question left to ask if i can save his arm?"

I didn't answer immediately.

Can I?

That was the question which went on, in my mind.

But this...

This was different.

This wasn't a wound which can be dressed with a piece of cloth.

This was a real person.

And if I failed...

He would pay the price.

I inhaled deeply.

Then exhaled.

Again.

Inhale.

Exhale.

I repeated it until my breathing became steady.

Don't rush.

Observe first.

Then act next.

I moved toward the man's injured arm.

My hand hovered above it.

I gathered mana carefully.

The way mana flowed.

The way it interacted with the body.

The way purity affected its function.

Then I began.

"Lethedyne."

A faint white aura appeared around my hand.

It slowly spread over the man's injured arm.

The man's body tensed.

I continued concentrating.

A few seconds passed.

Then I asked:

"Can you feel your hand or any pain?"

His expression changed.

"I..."

He looked confused.

"I can't feel it."

The man then with panic screamed my hand I......I..CAN'T FEEL MY HAND. NOW HOW CAN I FEED MY FAMILY.

His breathing suddenly became faster.

"My hand..."

He looked toward his wife.

"Why can't I feel my hand?"

His wife immediately panicked.

"What happened?"

"Did something go wrong?"

"Is he going to lose his arm?"

The room became chaotic.

I raised my voice.

"Everyone, calm down!"

They stopped.

I looked at the patient.

"It's the spell."

He stared at me.

"The spell?"

"Lethedyne temporarily blocks the sensation of pain in the area I'm affecting."

I kept my hand over his arm.

"Your hand isn't paralyzed."

The man swallowed.

"Then I'll be able to feel it again?"

"Yes."

"When you stop feeling the spell's effect."

I paused.

"Just don't panic."

The man's breathing slowly settled.

I looked at Ryan.

He understands.

I turned back to the patient.

"Now..."

I slowly reached for his arm.

"This is where the difficult part begins."

I adjusted my grip.

"Stay still."

The man nodded.

I took another breath.

Then began to work.

The real treatment had begun.

I carefully took hold of the man's injured arm.

The moment my fingers touched it, I could feel how badly the bone had been displaced.

Just like Ryan said... this isn't a simple fracture.

I examined it again before making any movement.

The bone had snapped and shifted out of its proper position.

I couldn't afford to make a mistake.

"Hold him steady."

His wife immediately helped keep the man's body from moving.

I took another breath.

Then slowly began adjusting the arm.

A little to the left.

Then back.

I carefully aligned the broken bone with the rest of the arm.

The patient didn't experience any pain because.

Lethedyne was still active.

His sensation of pain had been suppressed.

But I could see the tension in his face.

Even without pain...

he knew what I was doing.

"Almost there."

I made one final adjustment and this was crucial because while readjusting if any one nerves or blood vessels get ruptured that cause bleeding internally or worse consequence.

The arm was finally aligned.

I secured it with supports so it wouldn't move again.

Then I reached for the medicinal mixture we have been preparing since last month.

I rubbed it carefully around the injured area.

Ryan watched silently with curiosity.

I looked at him.

"Old man."

"Hm?"

"Now I need your help."

Ryan understood immediately.

He placed his hand over the injured arm.

A faint green glow appeared around his palm.

Healing magic began flowing into the man's body.

I continued maintaining Lethedyne.

Two different forms of magic were now working together.

One was keeping the pain away.

The other was accelerating the body's recovery.

I maintained my concentration.

My breathing became heavier.

Mana continued leaving my body.

Don't lose concentration.

Ryan continued his healing.

After another fifteen minutes...

My arms began to tremble.

I clenched my teeth.

The spell was becoming harder to maintain.

Ryan glanced at me.

"You alright, youngin'?"

"I'm fine."

I wasn't.

But there was no point telling him that.

Just a little longer.

I continued.

Eventually, the treatment reached its end.

Nearly Twenty five minutes had passed since I began.

I finally released Lethedyne.

The spell faded.

I immediately felt the exhaustion hit me.

My legs gave way.

I sat down on the floor.

"...That took more out of me than I expected."

Ryan looked at me.

"That's because you're still learning, youngin'."

I ignored the comment.

Instead, I looked at the patient.

"How do you feel?"

The man slowly moved his fingers.

His eyes widened.

"I can feel my hand."

He moved it again.

"The pain..."

He looked at me.

"It's almost completely gone."

I nodded.

"Good."

I slowly stood up.

"But don't mistake that for being fully healed."

His expression became serious.

"The bone still needs time to recover naturally."

"You aren't allowed to lift anything."

"Not heavy things."

"Not light things either."

He nodded.

"Give it time."

"If you take care of it properly, your arm should recover."

The man nodded again.

"Thank you."

I turned toward Ryan.

My body felt like it had been drained completely.

"Old man..."

Ryan looked at me.

"Can you take over from here?"

I stood up and went outside for fresh air.

Ryan smiled.

"Leave the rest for me, youngin'."

I went outside the house.

Apparently saving someone's arm is more exhausting than I thought even with magic its a pain but how were people in my world able to do all those kinds of treatments with higher accuracy ?

But they are totally on a whole different level .

"Back in my old world, people lived healthy lives because we had heroes of our own—except they worked wonders without a trace of magic."

And for now...

those Heros are requried here as well.

man that took more mana than I expected.

I took a few steps forward.

Then I noticed three children standing near the house.

They looked worried.

I stopped.

"Who are you kids?"

None of them answered immediately.

They looked at each other.

The oldest-looking one finally stepped forward.

"The man inside..."

He glanced toward Ryan's house.

"He's the one who takes care of us."

I looked at him.

"Your parents?"

The boy lowered his head.

"They passed away."

"Because of an illness."

The other two stood beside him.

"After that, he started looking after us."

"He gives us food..."

"And lets us stay with him."

I glanced toward the house.

So that's why they were worried.

The first boy looked at me.

"We saw you treating maxim."

"We wanted to know if there was anything we could do in return for treating him."

I looked at the three of them carefully.

Then I remembered something.

Wait.

These were the same children from the building collapse.

The ones who had helped me that day.

They had cleaned wounds, carried water and helped dress the injured.

They weren't completely inexperienced.

I looked at them again.

"Then let me ask you something."

The three children straightened themselves.

"If you had the chance to cure an illness..."

I paused.

"Or help someone who was injured..."

"Would you do it?"

There wasn't even a moment of hesitation.

"Yes."

The answer came straight from them.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

The second child stepped up this time she was hiding behind eldest.

"We lost our parents because of an illness."

Her hands tightened.

"And the people here took care of us."

"They gave us food."

"They gave us a place to stay."

"They treated us like we mattered."

He looked toward the house.

"So..."

"If someone else needs help..."

"I want to help them too."

The other two nodded.

I looked at them for a few seconds.

They're serious.

I had expected children to give me an answer because they wanted to pay me back.

But there was no hesitation in their eyes.

They had already experienced what it meant to lose someone.

And they had also experienced what it meant for someone else to help them.

I sighed quietly.

"Alright."

Their eyes widened.

"Come back here after a week."

"What for?"

"I'll decide then."

They looked at each other.

I turned toward the house.

"And until then..."

I looked back at them.

"Take care of the person you cherish."

I pointed toward the door.

"He's out of danger."

The three of them immediately smiled.

"Thank you!"

They hurried toward the house.

I watched them disappear inside.

For some reason...

I couldn't help but smile slightly.

Maybe Ryan wasn't the only one capable of finding people worth saving.

I stepped inside the house to find.

Ryan had already finished speaking with the family.

The injured man was sitting on the edge of the bed, supported by his wife.

I walked toward them.

His injured arm was secured gently and bent across the chest with fingers pointing toward the opposite shoulder. A triangular cloth is then placed under the arm, wrapped up over both shoulders, and tied securely with a flat knot at the side of the neck. Finally, the loose fabric remaining at the elbow is twisted and tucked in to keep the arm from slipping out..

And then i spoke.

"Mister."

He looked at me.

"You've got quite a few people who care about you."

I glanced toward the three children standing nearby.

"And apparently, quite a few people who rely on you."

The man smiled weakly.

I pointed toward his injured arm.

"So don't do anything stupid."

His wife looked at me.

I continued.

"Your arm needs time to recover."

"Don't start working just because you feel better."

The man nodded.

"I understand."

"Good."

I adjusted the support around his arm.

"This should make it easier for you to move around."

He looked at his wife.

She smiled.

Then, with her help, he slowly stood up.

The three children immediately moved closer to support him.

I watched them.

They were careful.

No one was panicking like before.

The family thanked Ryan.

Then they turned toward me.

"Thank you."

I simply nodded.

"Take care of him."

"We will."

They slowly made their way toward the door.

I watched them leave.

For a moment, I remained silent.

Then I looked at Ryan.

He was smiling.

Not the usual teasing smile.

A genuine one.

I looked toward the street.

The family was walking away together.

The man's wife was supporting him.

The three children were walking beside them.

Their faces were completely different from when they had arrived.

There was relief in them now.

I looked at Ryan again.

So this is what you wanted to protect, old man.

Ryan continued watching them until they disappeared from sight.

Then his smile slowly faded.

I knew something was coming.

And judging by his expression...

It wasn't going to be good.

Ryan looked at me.

"Sit down, youngin'."

I walked toward the table and sat opposite him.

For a few moments, neither of us spoke.

Ryan looked toward the window.

I followed his gaze.

Outside, Lionheart looked peaceful.

The town was slowly returning to normal.

Then Ryan spoke.

"The smiles on their faces..."

He paused.

"They're going to disappear."

I looked at him.

"What are you talking about, old man?"

Ryan didn't answer immediately.

His eyes remained fixed on the distant barrier.

Then he finally spoke.

"That barrier..."

I narrowed my eyes.

"What about it?"

"It's getting weaker."

I looked toward the barrier again.

"The barrier?"

Ryan nodded.

"Yes."

"Not just a little."

"It's losing its strength."

I remained silent.

That shouldn't be possible.

The barrier had protected Lionheart for generations.

It was the reason people here could live without fearing the monsters beyond the walls.

I looked back at Ryan.

"What do you mean by weaker?"

Ryan sighed.

"I mean..."

"One day, it might not be able to protect them anymore."

My expression hardened.

"And what happens then?"

Ryan finally looked at me.

"Then the people of Lionheart will have to face the world outside."

I glanced toward the window again.

The peaceful town suddenly felt different.

Everyoone were living because that barrier existed.

Ryan lowered his voice.

"And that's something I don't want to see."

I looked at him.

"Old man..."

"How long?"

Ryan remained silent.

Then he answered.

"I don't know."

His expression was grim.

"But I know one thing."

"The barrier is failing."

I stared at him.

"Then..."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Ryan looked away.

"Because I didn't have an answer."

He paused.

"And I didn't want to frighten everyone before I knew what I was dealing with."

I remained silent.

Outside...

Lionheart continued to smile.

But behind that smile...

Something was already beginning to break.