Chapter 4: Debut

Chapter 4: Debut

"Can you hurry up, please!" Miko sounded stressed, while I did not receive a single piece of information about the urgent mission, we had been ordered to do half an hour ago.

Nobody was thinking about how nervous I was. I obtained my license just two weeks ago, and my first job would be some kind of emergency. My heart was beating so loudly that it was hard to follow Miko's instructions.

She dragged me into the changing room upstairs of the guild building and threw several pieces of clothing in my direction. That explained why I had to fill out a form regarding my body measurements.

Since she was already in full gear, Miko just watched as I put on the clothes she gave me. Most of the pieces looked like simple military stuff, but the dark poncho was the only thing that felt magical. It looked quite thick and heavy, but it was as light as a feather.

Miko was also in a bad mood because Lilith was mad at her for not showing and explaining the equipment earlier. Luckily, she is a prodigy when it comes to explaining things in a way that I can understand.

"Don't forget to put on the armband," she said as I tied my shoes. The armband was quite plain, a red cross on a white fabric that indicated that I was a healer.

My anxiety grew as I put on the combat gloves and a medical bag with first aid supplies in case I couldn’t use my magic.

I tried to relax, but there's a difference between sobering up a few drunk people and healing a broken nose after a brawl compared to receiving an emergency call from another guild. Before I could think about what awaited me, we were sitting in the car of Eliza, our secretary, aka the cab driver for today.

"Ok, we got around thirty minutes until we arrive… any questions, Kayla?"

Ha, funny. I thought. Of course, I have questions.

"What happened? What do I need to do after arrival?" I asked, staring at the back of Miko's head as she sat in the passenger seat before me.

"First aid probably, there are several injured. And we have to watch the gate and wait for reinforcements since they didn't manage to close the dungeon." Miko sounded annoyed, almost a bit angry.

"I don't know the details, but they were up against much stronger enemies than they expected. You know that when you get too comfortable, you get careless. But we're lucky to get some work thanks to their failure."

She was a little too cold to the fact that some people got injured. She probably had so many experiences that her empathy got a little dented. I'm not the most compassionate person, but I wasn't thinking about profit at the moment.

"Are there any special rules I need to know?" I wanted to avoid mistakes in my debut mission.

"Just do what the others tell you. I can't promise you I'll always be by your side, so be a brave puppy." She turned her head, smiling at me widely.

Do I act like a dog? I was not sure how to deal with her statement. But at least it wasn't an insult, I guess.

By the way, Eliza didn't say a word the whole ride. Since she was not a witch, she would only drop us off and would not go with us to the dungeon gate. Miko had once explained to me that there are regular people who participate in dungeon raids. They use magical items to fight alongside mages, but Eliza isn’t one of them.

I still hoped with all my heart that I would not have to fight anything. Miko was urging me to do a boot camp with her, where I would learn the basics of self-defense in combination with simple attack magic. I had really considered it... the thought of being with her for a week or two sounded exciting, but I haven't agreed to it yet.

"We arrived. Text me when you want to be picked up again," Eliza said, unlocking the doors.

"Thanks for the ride," I replied, grabbing my bag and leaving the car.

"Follow me," Miko commanded, walking at a fast pace.

We ended up in some kind of park, but there was no one to be seen. It was almost creepy. The atmosphere reminded me of zombie movies where the population was wiped out.

But after a short walk, we discovered the restricted area with an improvised entrance guarded by two men already eyeing us.

As I had already learned, I pulled out my magic license to identify myself.

But as soon as we stood in front of them, they simply lowered their heads and said, "Nice to see you."

Obviously, this was directed at Miko.

"Where is the leader?" she asked snippily.

"He is running around, trying to help. You will definitely catch him."

"The injured?"

"In the tents we always use."

"Got it."

The brief conversation ended, and Miko began walking, picking up the pace again.

After another minute, we reached what resembled a campsite, with many tents, benches, and tables. The biggest difference to a camp was the huge stone structure that definitely looked like an entrance to another world. The inside of the gate shimmered in a strong blue shade, although it was slightly transparent so that you could see through it.

"The healer arrived." Someone shouted. A boy, slightly shorter than me, stood before me a moment later.

"Please follow me. I will bring you to the injured."

I looked at Miko. She nodded and started to look around, searching for the guild leader.

"Where is Sami?" she asked the boy.

"He went back inside the dungeon. We're still missing some people who weren't confirmed dead…" his voice broke off mid-sentence, and the look on his face almost brought tears to my eyes. Whatever had happened to them was horrible.

"Then I will wait here," she said, staring at the gate with crossed arms. Her attitude gave the impression that she owned this place, and everyone who looked at her reacted very cautiously, almost a bit intimidated.

Suddenly, I felt a tug on my hand. The boy wanted to get moving.

"No one's life is in danger, but they are in much pain." He was still struggling to speak, fighting back tears, perhaps thinking of the friends he had lost today

I have been picturing everything I could experience today in my head since we received the notification for today's mission.

I really tried to act professionally. I read a lot about first aid for accidents, but the moment I felt that boy's concern, my emotions threatened to take control of my mind.

Then, the slight smell of blood in the tent smacked me in the face and curiously helped me to regain my focus.

I counted five people, four of whom were lying on field beds wrapped in thermal blankets.

The only one sitting was a crying man who looked physically fine. I bit my lip and headed for the bed on the left side of the tent. Even before I started, a feeling of frustration began to build up inside of me.

“Hey, how do you feel?” I asked quietly.

The woman slowly opened her eyes. " I fell down a slope… everything hurts." her voice was weak, but she chuckled about her accident.

"Okay, I'm going to heal you now." I tried to smile and gently placed my hands on her body. With my eyes closed, I imagined my magic pouring over her, and that is exactly what it did.

For the first time since I can remember, I actually felt a large portion of mana leaving my body, somehow drying me out.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked, wiping a little sweat from my forehead.

The eyes of the woman were wide open… she stared at me in disbelief.

"I feel like nothing ever happened. Thank you a lot." She slowly sat up and examined the areas where she was injured while I cared for the other wounded.

My next two patients had similar injuries, so I repeated the form of magic I had used before. But the fourth patient was my biggest challenge yet. A man who looked to be in his forties had a large cut across his face. My stomach grumbled, and my eyes involuntarily wandered. I was definitely not used to this kind of sight.

"Girl, it's okay. Scars are cool, right? You don’t need to look at me." he said, smiling slightly.

"I was planning on avoiding a scar, but I'll keep it in mind," I said, holding a hand over his head.

Before I began channeling my mana, I noticed the already healed patients standing behind me, watching my movements with anticipation.

I concentrated on closing the wound, not healing his whole body, as I had done before. It was possible that I would leave a large scar on his face since I was not experienced in healing deep wounds.

A green light shone from my hand and covered his face. And the wound actually began to close. It looked as if threads of blood were stitching the torn skin back together—a grotesque and incredible sight at the same time.

“You look as ugly as before.” Said one of the other people and started laughing.

I had to take a deep breath, my hands began to tingle, and a feeling of numbness started to spread throughout my body. I had the feeling that my circular system would crash at any moment.

"Shut up!" the person who had been crying a few minutes ago shouted angrily. "The healer is about to collapse. Get her something to drink!"

I don’t want to admit that, but he was probably right.

“It is fine… I just need a small break,” I said, breathing heavily.

A moment later, Miko and a man I didn't recognize entered the tent.

"Holy shit, you look terrible, Kayla," Miko said in shock and knelt down to hold me, putting her arm around my shoulders.

When did I sit down? I don't remember going to the ground.

“Is she already done?” Asked the dude that stood at the entrance of the tent. “Thank you for your… oh, wow.” He stopped talking and stared at his guild members.

“You said she was a newbie, but it’s rare to see anyone with that healing capacity. Truly incredible."

Miko also looked a little surprised and started stroking my shoulder. "Good job."

"Sami! It's Krys. He just left the dungeon."

All the people ran out of the tent. Miko helped me stand up, and we followed the crowd. What I saw there was worse than anything I had imagined. A member of the guild named Krystoff had been pierced by a sword that was still stuck in his torso.

I can't save him, was the first thought that flashed into my mind.

My heart broke when I heard some people talking about me being here. They believed that there was a chance to save his life. But I was already at my limit.

I clenched my fists. Miko noticed this and placed her hand over mine. “It is ok. You can’t help everyone.” She whispered.

While we were standing there, he collapsed—dead silence. No one moved or said anything. It seemed like they already accepted his death. But he was still breathing. So, I wanted to try it, try to save his life.

I walked toward him, and everyone gazed at me. They told me without words that I had to do something.

"I have an idea, but if we wait too long, he will die. I have to close his wound immediately. But we have to remove the sword first." I knew how my words sounded... reckless and stupid.

Normally, you should never pull an object out of the body since it can damage nerves and blood vessels.

“He will die if we remove it,” Sami said as if he had already given up.

“He will also die if we don’t. Try to trust me. You pull it out, and I close his wound instantly.”

“That is impossible.” He shook his head.

“We will regret it if we don’t try it,” I shouted angrily.

Miko came up to us and positioned herself behind Krystoff.

"You lift him, and I'll pull out the sword, understood?" she said, looking at Sami seriously.

"Understood," he said with a crushed expression and walked over to Miko.

Sami lifted Krystoff so that he was sitting as I knelt down in front of him.

The strong smell of blood poured into my nose, mixed with my circulation problems I felt like throwing up. But I tried to focus and closed my eyes.

I imagined how I would save his life and close the hole in his torso with my magic.

Green light began to radiate from all over my body. The tiny particles flew around and slowly gathered around my hands.

"I'm going to count down from three," I said with a trembling voice.

“Three”

“Two”

“One!”

Miko pulled the sword out with a jerk. Blood splattered on my face as I pressed my hands on his body, shooting every last drop of my mana into his wound.

I was no longer aware of my surroundings. I felt my consciousness fading.

My stomach began to burn like fire. I spat blood and fell onto the floor.

I can't breathe

I tried to fill my lungs with air, but it was not working.

It felt as if my body was rebelling. Every inch of me began to ache.

And suddenly, everything went dark.