Irwyn awoke to a loud bellow of pain. At first he wondered who dared to disturb his rest, but then he realised the scream was his own. In his disoriented confusion he attempted to stand up but that only caused another scream of pain to escape his lips as something currently held his brutally seared right hand. “Argh”

Whatever held his hand let go after Irwyn began to frantically wiggle it. “Calm down! You are safe now,” a soft feminine voice sounded from beside him. The words were just enough to nudge Irwyn back into reason as he stopped his frantic struggle. When he calmed down enough he was finally able to inspect the person who sat right by his bed. It was a young child, not much older than Irwyn himself. His features were extremely soft even for a child of his age which made him look slightly chubby in the face despite his thin and fragile build. Probably his, but the gender was not particularly distinct because of the thickly-knitted wool vest and long blond hair. When inspecting the face in greater detail Irwyn noticed that the child was heterochromatic: His left eye was brown while the right was pure yellow.

“Stay here, okay? I will be right back.” The child said and stared into Irwyn’s eyes. Still slightly hazed Irwyn didn’t hesitate and nodded. The child immediately stood up from the stool Irwyn just noticed and ran off. There was a piece of wet cloth in his hand which he was probably using to clean Irwyn’s hand as he woke up. Before the child left his sight he activated his skill.

[Activating skill Overseer]

[Activation successful]

[Name: Minet Bloom]

[Race: human (touched by vitality)]

[Soul grade: uncommon]

[Mana: 13/150]

[Active Classes: Seeker of light (T 1/5) 20/20]

[Worship: none]

[Essence: 13]

[Unspent points, level: 0, attribute: 0, upgrade: 0]

[Titles: Seeker of Lumen, Herald of radiance, Touched by vitality]

[Magic: Light magic, Vitality magic, Radiance magic]

[Skills:]

[Dormant classes: Herald of radiance]

[Attributes:]

[Magic capacity: 15]

[Constitution: 6]

[Strength: 3]

[Intellect: 15]

[Dexterity: 15]

[Soul: 11]

Adding to Irwyn’s surprise he just ran into a great sproutling talent. Not only did the boy possess great affinity for light and the lesser radiance which already more than opened his gate to greater healing arts, but he was also touched by vitality. That would grant a human access to vitality magic which was otherwise unique to spirit races serving the world tree. Vitality magic healing worked on completely different principles than that of light, but Irwyn unfortunately didn’t have precise understandings of their working as he was never able to use either.

When Irwyn awoke from his thoughts the young boy was no longer in the room; he probably went to get whoever treated Irwyn’s wounds in the first place. Speaking of treatment; Irwyn felt almost miraculously well considering how serious his wounds had been.

First he looked within himself and checked on his previously seared organs. To his immense joy they were no longer mutilated or about to rupture; they were still scarred, but healed. This would probably bring him trouble a decade or so down the line when his body grew up to adulthood, but his luck was already immense to suffer only that bit of damage despite the circumstances. A sparkle of rage was suppressed when he thought about what happened, but he knew that now was not the time. Returning to his previous train of thought he realised that the state of his internal wounds also meant that his limp body was somehow brought into the capable hands of a healer who actually knew how to heal, also quite possibly the child’s parent or teacher. Next Irwyn looked at his scorched right hand and stopped in his tracks. It was no longer blackened to the bone; instead it was just covered in large white blisters with spots of beed red skin. Moreover he now also realised that his muscles were somewhat usable if he could stand the pain: That meant that the healing was not just done on surface. That is not something a healer bellow 4th tier could achieve. It would be wise to be wary.

“It is good to see that you are awake.” A gentle female voice sounded from the doorway, jerking Irwyn out of his analysis. When Irwyn looked at the source a woman in plain white dress which seemed much alike an angel appeared before him. An angel from folklore, that is, if something that looked like an actual angel appeared he would probably try to burn it before it got the chance to eat him. Her frame was tall with all the right curves and her blond hair with soft visage made Irwyn feel disturbingly comforted. A moment later he noticed that the woman was also heterochromatic with the same brown and yellow colours which meant she was likely mother of the talented kid.

“How are you feeling.” She said in that same gentle voice, the tone bordering on compulsive mind magic.

“Better than I had expected when I passed out.” Irwyn said absent mindedly, trying distract himself from the woman he began to look around the room. The wooden walls and furniture were the definition of shabby: Made of cheap wood with minimal effort from the carpenter. Those were common in small villages and settlements, and considering the circumstances Irwyn though that was a safe bet about his whereabouts.

“You are surprisingly talkative for someone who went through... that kind of trauma,” she raised an eyebrow. He probably should had tried to play the role of a terrified pipsqueak, but his momentary distraction cost him that opportunity.

“I have my circumstances.” he said, but tried to now sound slightly shaken like a child in his situation should be.

“I assumed that might be the case. The extensive internal burning and traces of potions in your bloodstream made it obvious that you are not just someone who got caught in a forest fire like the villagers thought. But first things first. Let’s introduce ourselves; my name is Daisy. What about you?” she asked, smiling.

“You can call me Irwyn.” for some reason he revealed his real name. The woman seemed lost in thought for a moment before she momentarily frowned, but then still asked another question with a smile and that alluring tone.

“Alright Irwyn. Want to tell me what happened to you? The wounds you had were definitely not natural.”

“I ran into… unexpected trouble. My memory is hazy, but I know that I… attempted to use wild magic when I was at my wit’s end.” for some reason Irwyn felt slightly guilty about lying so flatly, but he understood he couldn’t just explain his actual circumstances. The woman’s eyes flickered at this statement. That implied she would not question the truth of that story, but only his ability to reason.

“Wild magic? What sort of magic teacher would teach something so dangerous to a young child?!” she raised her voice in outrage. She seemed to care far too much considering they didn’t really know each other.

“It was mostly improvised… I think. I am not sure whether it even was actual wild magic. I just poured everything I could into a spell and then let go of the reins.”

“What level is your magic at to even think about something that insane?” the woman asked, her eyes still wild.

“I could barely manage a fireball before the things went down.” Irwyn tried to sound awkward as he lied through his teeth.

“WHAT? What kind of teacher can get children to cast a second tier spell at the age of seven?!” the woman didn’t try to hide her surprise at his claims.

“I am actually only six.” Irwyn added fuel to the flame. When the woman heard this she was stuck with her mouth agape for a bit before she regained her composure and made a huge grin.

“Even if you are talented and a genius you should remember that I, Daisy, saved your life in this instance,” she eventually stated.

“And I am in your debt for it,” He admitted, the pride inside him refusing even the notion that it would not be fulfilled, “thank you.”

“You are welcome. I hope you will remember that favour in the future. Now you should rest. I need to consider some things,” Daisy said and turned around. Just before she left Irwyn asked her one last question.

“Wait. I need to ask you: how long had I been unconscious.”

“Don’t worry yourself over it. I will tell you once you wake up.”

“But…”

“No buts, you are still my patient even if you are mostly healed up now,” she refused him again and began to leave. Just when she was in the doorway Irwyn remembered he nearly forgot something.

[Activating skill Overseer]

[Skill redirected by keystone - Warden of life]

[Activation successful]

[Name: Yggdrasil]

[Race: Tree of life (World tree)]

[Soul grade: peak transcendent]

[Mana: 15,235,126,761,126,412,171,312…]

[Activation terminated by the user]

Shit! Irwyn wanted to curse as perspiration surfaced on his forehead. He terminated the connection as soon as he could, but he was aware that his current self was simply incapable of reacting fast enough. He should have realised it. The magical allure that her tone had, the divinity of her pose and the potent compulsion to tell her the truth. The information about the keystone momentarily flickered from within his memory as he steeled himself for what was sure to arrive.

[Warden of life - keystone

Effects:

500% more effect of healing magic. The user will be worshipped to a certain degree by all living things. Enables access to vitality magic. The user will be protected from Beholders by the world tree Yggdrasil. The user will develop absolute immunity to all healing magic and items. The user will never be able to harm another creature directly. The user will start to feel crushing guilt over all death and misery they encounter. The user will become a voluntary slave and sentry to the world tree Yggdrasil.

“In our birth we were all granted life. It only makes sense that we would serve it’s guardian.” - Archdruid Freya, the warden of the Valley.]

And just as he feared: Tendrils of wood reached out from the other side, entangling his limbs and body. He knew they were currently not real, but what was real and not only mattered to beings which were bound by reality. He clenched his teeth as the roots drilled into him, refusing to scream. He knew they were just a fragile probe, but he couldn’t afford destroy them; not if he didn’t want to be marked for death by every single cultist of life in the entire world. He endured the pain without screaming until his consciousness once again passed.