I was progressively feeling even worse, by the time I reached town. My arm had stopped hurting a little while ago, instead it was hot and numb. I was more concerned that I lost the pain sensation than well the pain pulsed through my body.
After entering the city proper, I quickly made my way to where the church was located. I was familiar with it as you can get holy water there, which I wished I had some earlier. And would have usually been useful for dealing with the dead. The only reason I didn't buy some before I left was that I didn't expect to run into a hoard, but I think I'll have to prepare for that in the future.
As my head was pounding at the intense sunlight, I struggled to make out the large stone church coming into view, through my squinted eyes. Passing by the townsfolk, they gave me weird looks as my fever-ridden self-lumbered past them by.
If I hadn't exhausted my stamina and mana as much as I did, then this blight wouldn't have spread this fast. But as I had to push myself to the limits, just to escape. It was now a race against time before I succumb to the blight.
Entering the open door to the church, I couldn't take in the majesty of the marble floors, or the stained-glass windows and tapestries. I quickly searched for the nearest priest, and it was easy to spot them as they were dressed in pure white robes with a golden sash draped around their necks.
"Sir, if you don't mind me saying, you don't look that well." A soft male voice spoke to me, off to my side.
"Unfortunately, I am not. I had a run-in with the undead, is there a priest available for a purification?" I asked as I turned to look at the priest. He was a well-groomed man who seemed to be in his thirties.
His soft expression soon turned severe as he heard the situation. "Of course, sir. I can perform the purification. Please follow me to a treatment room." The priest said as he directed me to a corridor off the main hall.
Even though it wasn't that far to walk, I struggled to move my legs with every step. With pure willpower, I managed to walk into the treatment room.
Inside was a simple bed, a wash basin, and a chair. It was a simple furnished room but considering that the church is run primarily on donations, it was surprising that they even have this much furniture to begin with.
"Please take a seat on the bed, and I'll begin immediately." The priest spoke knowing the importance of speed as he gestured to the bed for me to sit on.
Sitting on the bed, the last of my willpower that was driving me forward left me and I found it difficult to hold myself up. My chest started to feel tight, and my lungs were burning with each breath and my eyes were struggling to focus on anything.
Through my delirium, I could hear the mutterings of the priest in front of me. Then, I felt a warmth hit my arm, it felt comforting and relaxing. If I closed my eyes, I could swear that I could picture a bright sun in my mind's eye.
My breathing started to gradually become easier, and my fever subsided until I had some semblance of my senses back. My eyes were still sensitive to light, but as I opened them, they were assaulted by the blinding colour of mana coming from the priest.
I watched the flow of mana intently. The good thing about being hypersensitive was my ability to see mana. With enough understanding, I could read the spells flow of mana and replicate them if I understood the effects of the spell. Meaning, that seeing a useful spell such as purification was a very valuable lesson, it was unfortunate that I had to be inflicted to witness it.
By the time the spell had begun to reach its end, I had begun to understand the concept of holy magic. I could tell that even though the priest was doing his best, there would be some traces of blight remaining. So, while I had the opportunity to experience the spell, I began to copy it and silently cast it.
Of course, it wasn't as simple as it sounded. However, having the spell circulating through my body, I just had to recreate it, or strengthen it using my mana. After a few moments of focusing, I was able to recreate a simplified version of the spell, with a different effect to the original.
At first, the priest was surprised that my infliction was rapidly being healed but soon returned his focus back to his spell.
After a few more minutes had passed, the treatment had ended.
Breathing a sigh of relief, the priest wiped the sweat on his brow and smiled. "I was a little concerned with how severe the blight was. But it somehow became easier towards the end." The priest was curious but seemed to be happy that the treatment was a success.
"Well, I'm just glad that I feel better," I said as I looked at my arm. While the wound was still there, the bleeding had stopped thanks to the tonic I had taken earlier.
The priest looked at the wound and I could tell that they were thinking of healing it. But I took out a bit of scrap linen that I bought the other day and wrapped it around the wound. I did buy them for wrapping up meat and such, but it's clean, so it'll do. Plus, the wound would be a perfect test subject to try out holy magic.
I could see the questioning look on the priest's face, but I pulled out a single silver coin. "Thanks for the healing," I said as I offered the coin to him.
Stunned for a moment, the priest quickly took the coin. "Thank you, sir, for your generous donation."
While the church doesn't charge for treatment, they do accept donations for their services. Depending on the priest, some expect and even look down on the amount you donate, but a silver coin would appease almost any priest.
"Not at all. You can't put a price on one's life, after all." I replied, standing from the bed. My legs still felt a little weak, but still strong enough to carry my own weight.
"I agree with you." He smiled a genuine smile that seemed to shout that he was happy that I understood.
After another word of thanks, I took my leave from the church and headed over to the adventurer's guild to sell my magic crystals. However, I did notice a notification window had appeared during treatment earlier but ignored it until now.
[Light control: level 1]
A spell that allows the user to control light, the higher the level, the higher the control.
The usual unhelpful description appeared. Though I wasn't expecting it to be called light instead of holy, I suppose that the term holy was subjective as arcanists, as mages weren't religious to begin with.
Arriving at the adventurer's guild, I entered and went straight to the bulletin board to see what was requested for culling. Unfortunately, lizardmen weren't requested and neither were magic crystals. Still, money is money.
Heading over to the sales counter, feeling a little dejected. After a brief greeting, I took out all thirty crystals and placed them on the tray in front of me. The staff member was momentarily stunned by the amount but soon returned to their business-like self.
After a brief examination of the crystals, the staff member behind the iron, protective bars, pulled out a small pouch and began to put coins in and handed it to me.
All in all, I sold the crystals for two hundred and ten coppers. Not a bad haul, if I do say so myself. Though it was a dangerous day, one that I didn't plan on repeating any time soon, if I had any say in it.
I bought some skewered meat from some food stands on my way home, as I felt weak and eating good food can make you feel better.