The Martial Unity

Chapter 3648: The Path of the asklepions

“Yep.” Rui patted the calm doctor on the shoulder, tugging at him like he was showing off the doctor off to Mother Maeria. “He deduced that there was something to be afraid about because of how good of a doctor he is.”

Rui’s grin spread wider. “Considering that no other medical expert in the world has experienced the Fear because of their intelligence and knowledge, we can confidently say that he is the best doctor in the world.”

The Divine Doctor directed an unamused glance at Rui. He had stopped caring for such accolades centuries ago when he realized just how far beyond other contemporary healers he was ahead of even as a teenager. It was like trying to brag about being stronger than a child, almost embarrassing even.

Mother Maeria knitted her eyebrows. “You’re telling me that this medical professional deduced the fear because of an extraordinary medical understanding?”

“Correct,” the Divine Doctor replied, cutting Rui’s sensationalism off. “I deduced many years ago that not only was Gaia alive, but that she was ill. Then, a few months ago, I came to the realization that it wasn’t just Gaia, but the entirety of the universe that was ill. It was a phenomenon that was universal, and the sheer scale of it would undoubtedly inspire great fear in anybody who could directly sense it, which I couldn’t.”

Her eyes lit up at those words. “Gaia is alive…? What an elven way of thinking. But…”

She frowned. “What is this about the universe being ill?”

“Just an intuition,” the Divine Doctor replied. “I don’t quite understand it myself. But I have seen every illness, disease, and medical disorder in existence, and I have a deep understanding of all of them, including of those for lifeforms that are not quite organic, like that of golems. It has allowed me to thread the fundamental pattern of ’Illness’ itself. That intuition tells me that not only is Gaia ill… but so is everything.”

His eyes sharpened.

“There is something profoundly wrong about all of reality itself.”

Rui grew impressed hearing those words. “Man, if there was a Path of Medicine, you would be a goddamn Transcendent.”

“There actually is such a path,” Mother Maeria’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “And a corresponding race as well.

Rui and the Divine Doctor lit up at those words.

“A Path of Healing… seriously?” Rui grew curious at those words.

“Fascinating.” The Divine Doctor’s interest was piqued by those words. “Please do elaborate.”

“Very well,” she remarked. “It is a hybrid race, of course. One born from eons of interbreeding between a group of dwarves, elves, and therianthropes on a group of islands that you must be familiar with…”

With a simple gesture of her hand, the living wooden table’s surface changed to create a map of the true world. She pointed at a group of islands between West Genora, Moridia, and the Panama Continent.”

“The Grigolia Isles.”

Rui’s eyes lit up with interest. “That’s where the Hlakaschken Trade Empire is situated. You’re telling me that there was a hybrid race there that followed the Path of Healing? How could I have possibly missed that?”

Mother Maeria shook her head. “They originated in the Grigolia Isles, but they have long since departed for centuries now. Their path was so valued that they have been hunted and enslaved by those who seek the power of healing. They have fleed pursuit and have become a nomadic tribe that travels the world in the shadows, hiding from those who seek to persecute them.”

“Damn,” Rui muttered, stirring at those words. “That story sounds familiar.”

It was identical to that of the Silas Clan’s story.

Indeed, when a group of people possessed a power that was too valuable, they would undoubtedly experience great danger from all those who were greedy for their power and sought to steal it from them. The Silas Clan’s prophecy was so great that they barely survived being hunted alive, despite that powerful prophecy, nomadically traveling the world for centuries until they had settled down in the Kandrian Empire for the past few decades.

“I’m surprised they are able to hide in a world with as many satellite surveillance systems as Gaia,” the Divine Doctor remarked.

“It’s because satellite surveillance jamming systems are also just as ubiquitous, making the world as opaque and dark as when we didn’t have satellites,” Rui replied. “They must be relying on these as shields to protect themselves from those who seek to find them.”

He turned towards Mother Maeria. “How did they come to develop a Path of Healing? How does it even work?”

“The healing largely comes from the fusion of the creation that they inherited from dwarves combined with the nature they gained from their elven and therianthropic heritages,” she informed them. “Stable triple-hybrids are unusual, since it is very difficult to maintain a constant amount of DNA heritages for it eventually blend into a single hybrid species, but as you know, the Hlakaschken Trade Empire was extremely racially diverse, ensuring that such hybrids were quite ubiquitous.”

Rui nodded, recalling the story and origin of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire. “They gained immigration from all races, and are thought to be one of the largest origins of many hybrid species. I suppose it’s no wonder. Still, healing? I guess anything goes, huh?”

“It’s because the passivity of the elven blood canceled out the aggression that might have come from the therianthropic blood. They weren’t able to create very well by themselves, due to only a partial dwarven heritage, and it made them weak in confrontation. This led them to direct that creation in a way that could harness nature and was passive. When you add this up with the fact that they sustained great wounds due to their personal weakness before the second wave of globalization, it explains why they developed the Path of Healing. They can heal wounds, diseases, and disorders alike with great proficiency, making them the greatest doctors in the world.”

“…Fascinating,” the Divine Doctor’s eyes lit up. “I would like to get my hands on a specimen.”