Chapter 14

Lance's face hardened with anger.

"Sir Raymond, you speak too harshly...."

"Harsh? That doesn't sound like something you'd say to a disgusting healer who's patient is dying in front of him and won't even think about saving his life."

Was it because his heart of steel was working?

Raymond spoke in an uncharacteristically harsh tone.

He dropped the honorifics.

"If you're scared, quit. You're a filthy coward who only cares about money."

"...!"

Finally, Lance gave in to the taunt.

"Very well, if you succeed in curing your patient, I will take off my healer's robes for good. But if you fail, don't even think about becoming a healer. By the authority of the Chief Healer, I will disqualify you as an apprentice."

Dismissed as an apprentice!

It was the worst possible condition, but Raymond nodded without hesitation.

Aren't you afraid of the aftermath of failure?

"I won't think about failure. I'll save him.

It didn't matter how difficult it was.

The patient was dying in front of me.

I only treated him with the intention of saving him.

I will never fail.

* * *

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

Raymond looked up, slightly surprised.

It was Hanson!

"Unless you're ..., I don't think there's anyone else who can help you."

Hanson shrugged, his freckled face grim.

"Radish, of course. Blood, if you don't need it."

"No, you won't need it."

Raymond took Hanson's hand.

"Thank you. I could really use the help."

Hanson had witnessed the surgery once before, so he knew what to say.

"Boil a pot of water, cleaned and sanitized with herbs, just like last time. Sterilize the knife and needle over a fire, and make sure the area is as clean as possible to reduce the chance of infection."

"Yes, sir!"

There was no time to waste.

After a quick prep, Raymond went straight into surgery.

"It would be nice if we could give him a blood transfusion before the operation.

But unlike on modern Earth, blood transfusions are not something that can be done easily.

Once the blood was drawn, there was a lot to deal with.

"There are no tools to draw the blood, no drugs to stop it from clotting, and no centrifuges to separate the components.

It would have been nice to have the equipment to do the transfusion in advance, but that was not an option.

"It's only been since the 1900s that we've been able to properly transfuse blood on Earth. Before that, more than five out of ten people died from transfusion side effects.

Of course, if he were dying right now, they'd probably ignore all of that and try to get a transfusion anyway, but for now, the priority was to keep his vitals up with IV fluids and try to hemorrhage him through surgery.

"Later, when I'm in a position to do so, I'll have to prepare the equipment for a transfusion.

Anyway, that was later.

We proceeded with the surgery.

I inhaled the hallucinogenic herb, disinfected the wound with a herb that contained natural antibiotics, and raised my knife.

'Can I do this?

I wondered.

I couldn't help but worry as the surgery approached.

"What if the knife penetrates a vital organ? I'll never be able to save him.

The abdomen contains more than just organs. There are many vital organs.

Liver, kidneys, spleen, large blood vessels, etc.

If any of them were injured, it would be impossible for Raymond to save them at his current level of skill.

'Given the location of the wound, the liver, kidneys, and spleen should be fine. It's most likely just internal damage, but it's possible that a major blood vessel has been damaged.

Critical vessels.

Essential vessels like the abdominal cavity arteries, hepatic portal vein, etc.

"Maybe, if the wound is deep enough, the aorta.

Raymond swallowed hard.

"In that case, it's impossible to use the Dexterity skill.

Sensory stats are abilities that give you greater control over the finer details of your body.

In other words, dexterity.

It's a great help in surgery, but it doesn't fill the gap in skill.

It takes more than just dexterity to perform difficult surgeries, it takes a deeper knowledge of and experience with surgery.

"Stop, Raymond. Stop being a coward! Holding back because you're afraid won't solve anything!

Raymond took a deep breath to calm his chest.

'Use. Touches of War.'

[I've used the Skill of Warrior's Touch!]

[Senses temporarily increased!]

[Senses: 16 → 26]

The sensitivity in his fingertips increased.

Feeling a strange sense of exaltation, Raymond moved his hand.

A snap.

The knife sliced through his skin.

The cut was much smoother, perhaps because his sensory stats were nearly double what they had been during the previous surgery.

Skin, dermis, fat, muscle, and peritoneum were revealed with each pass of the knife.

"...."

Hanson's eyes fluttered at the sight.

Raymond couldn't get used to the sight of the inside of his body being torn apart. This was only his second surgery.

He was tempted to close his eyes.

But Raymond didn't look away.

"Focus! This man's life is in my hands, and if you don't, he's going to die!

Gritting his teeth, he moved the knife, and the peritoneum opened, revealing the entire abdominal cavity.

Then a horrible sight appeared.

A gurgle!

The blood in the abdominal cavity began to pour out!

"What, sir? What now?"

Hanson asked in a panicked voice.

Raymond was equally puzzled.

He had never seen so much intra-abdominal blood before.

But he gritted his teeth.

["Heart of Steel!]

[Heart of steel!]

Raymond lifted his leg and kicked himself in the shin, his glove sanitized with herbs.

The pain woke him up with a start.

"Wipe the blood off with the herb-sanitized cloth."

"Blood, blood?"

"Yes. Please."

Raymond wondered if Hanson would do a good job. Even he, with the help of the Heart of Steel, was this giddy. Maybe he'd run away in fear.

But thankfully, Hanson didn't run away.

With shaky hands, he lifted the cloth and wiped at the blood.

With the blood wiped away, his vision temporarily cleared.

Raymond focused as hard as he could to find the source of the bleeding.

"We need to find the focus of the bleeding as soon as possible and staunch it. Where is it?

His mouth was dry as a bone.

He felt lightheaded, as if drugged, by the smell of blood.

Worst of all, the patient's condition was getting worse by the minute.

But finding the bleeding focus wasn't easy.

If he managed to wipe it away, it would quickly fill up with fresh blood, obscuring his vision.

With desperate willpower, Raymond checked the wound, and eventually found the source of the bleeding.

"Mesentery! The knife has pierced the mesentery and the vessels within are bleeding!

The mesentery!

The membrane lining the small intestine, with numerous blood vessels inside.

Blood was flowing out of it.

"Thank God, I didn't hit any major blood vessels or vital organs.

Even the surrounding small intestine was fine.

By some miracle, the stab had only penetrated the mesentery, with no other damage.

But he breathed a sigh of relief.

Raymond's face hardened as he looked inside the mesentery.

"There are so many damaged blood vessels. How do we tourniquet this?

Blood trickled out as the knife sliced through the cluster of tiny vessels.

"You can't even use a tie to staunch this, can you?

Tie.

A surgical technique that ties blood vessels together with thread to create a hemostasis.

If the bleeding was coming from a single vessel, the tie would work, but not in this case.

"What do we do?

Raymond swallowed hard.

'Unless this is Leipenthaina.

If this was Earth, there were options, according to the 'General Medicine' lore.

"Cauterize them all at once, but we can't do that here.

Cauterization.

It was one of the most common methods of hemostasis on Earth, involving the use of special tools to burn away bleeding areas.

"Chaff, my lord?"

Hanson asked, but Raymond could do nothing.

"No, sir. I can't staunch this bleeding without a bobbie, and I don't have a substitute....'

It was the moment!

Raymond's mind raced with ideas.

"No, there is! There is a way!

If 'Earth' had medical tools armed with the latest science, here in Leipenthaina, they had magic.

In other words, cauterize the bleeding with fire magic!

'Browse the Market. Buy a skill! Basic Fire Magic!

I shouted to myself.

[Purchased Basic (D rank) Fire Magic!]

[80 skill points consumed!]

[Fire Magic].

Classification : Support (Magic) Skill

Magic Rank: Basic

Skill Level: D

-You can use fire magic.

-As your proficiency increases, you will be able to use more skillful and intense fire magic!

Raymond took a deep breath and prepared to use his magic.

'Be as careful as possible. Too many burns and you're done for.

Raymond was worried about his ability to control the range of his fire magic.

But luckily, a message popped up.

[Your 'intellect' is high for the level of magic you're trying to use!]

[Your ability to control your magic will improve!]

"Intelligence?

I thought it was a stat that makes you smarter, but it seems to help you use magic as well.

'Fire. As weak as possible.'

Pale flames erupted from Raymond's fingertips.

"Huh?"

Hanson cried out in surprise.

Of course it was.

Magic!

Raymond thought about it later, concentrated, and performed a 'flame cauterization'.

It worked.

The faint smell of cooking flesh wafted out along with the faint smoke. At the same time, the trickle of blood began to stop.

It didn't stop completely, but it was over.

'Success! The larger vessels can be tied off with a tie.

I stopped the flame magic and picked up the thread.

Raymond's fingers moved carefully, guided by his knowledge of surgery,

Gulp.

The throbbing, bleeding vein closed in silence.

No more blood flowed from it. The wound was perfectly tamponaded!

"That's it!

Raymond breathed a sigh of relief.

With no intestinal damage, it was only a matter of cleaning and repairing the mesentery to complete the operation.

He was lucky, too.

If the knife had penetrated just an inch deeper, the operation would not have been so easy.

"...."

Meanwhile, Hanson stared in shock at the spot where the blood had stopped flowing.

Raymond awkwardly excused himself.

"It's a magic I used to dabble in."

"Magic?"

The voice sounded skeptical.

Raymond quickly changed the subject.

"...In fact, magic is an ability I learned from ancient ruins."

"...."

I don't know if he believes it or not.

All Hanson could do was gape in confusion.

"...I hope you're not so traumatized that you're twisted, good boy.

Raymond felt a little worried, but quickly shook his head.

That wasn't the important thing right now.

[Saved a dying patient!]

[Healed a patient above your rank!]

[You get bonus experience!]

[You're leveling up!]

[You're up 30 skill points!]

The tension eased.

You've saved a dying patient.

How else could I describe the feeling I had right now?

Unless you're a healer.

If you haven't experienced it, you'll never feel it.

It was the best feeling he'd ever had, unequaled by any other pleasure.

And so Raymond began to become addicted to the joy of healing.