The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima

by Antony W. F. Chow

  "Aside from that spell, I could protect you with a divine barrier, cleanse miasma, and heal someone very close to dying. My powers aren't hindered by an antimagic field either. I look forward to joining your adventures in the mortal plane and collaborating with you. Okay, my time has run out. See you soon!"

  Altima expelled the mortal soul, and Luka returned to his body.

  The guide continued her tour of the facilities, including the dormitories separated by gender and the mess hall. Upon arrival, Sister Chenda assigned beds to the visitors for their temporary stay. Then she took Luka to the clinic and began to review the condition of each patient.

  The observer was impressed with her medical knowledge. Luka had assumed that the sister relied on her healing magic to treat patients. Instead, she blended magic with medical science.

  Luka spent the entire day observing Chenda's work in the clinic. Before she began, the sister explained that he needed to learn this process because Luka would do the same thing when visiting the distant villages. Moreover, he will serve as her assistant until Chenda became satisfied with his competency as a healer. Otherwise, his shoddy and erroneous medical treatment of patients would reflect poorly on the organization itself.

  Thus, Luka spent three days in total at the clinic before gaining Sister Chenda's permission to leave.

  Chapter 94

  Izan (Part 2)

  On the morning of departure from Sorrel, Luka climbed aboard an official church carriage. The coachman closed the door and made his two horses trot away from the church.

  The passenger looked out the window with his pets. Nobody else shared his cabin. Luka saw a bustling town full of shops and pedestrians. His carriage stopped at the gate before the guards promptly waved the vehicle through.

  Not long after, the lively scenery changed into a dreary one with a dirt field that gave off a pungent stench of death and destruction. Luka realized this place was the former battlefield in which Lumina defeated the opposing army with its ultimate weapon. He imagined a scene straight out of the "Independence Day" movie, where alien ships destroyed Earth's strategic locations as part of an invasion. The scale of devastation would be similar to what laid before Luka right now.

  The mage felt tempted to use Reverse Time to witness the historical event, but he thought it wasn't worth the effort to satisfy his curiosity. After all, this spatial magic would need to go back fifteen years for the caster to see the relevant scenes while draining at least half his mana pool to accomplish this task.

  Luka sought to save his energy like a miser because he expected to reach the first village soon; the healer may see many patients and use up his magic to treat them.

  Bel noticed his companion's discomfort. [Kid, this is nothing. Back in my time, the demons declared wars on each other and changed the landscape daily.]

  Luka thought his familiar was boasting. "If that's the case, wouldn't you run out of land soon?" he pointed out.

  Bel nodded solemnly. [That's what happened to our ancient demon continent. We destroyed it. The survivors invaded the human continent for this reason. We had no place to live.]

  The listener facepalmed at this astonishing revelation. Luka wondered how the demon race survived if everyone acted like a musclehead. Given Bel's preference for violence as the solution to every problem, Luka didn't think the demon was exaggerating.

  The human shook his head and continued staring out the window. His patience paid off as the desolation eventually gave way to reclaimed land turning into vibrant fields full of crops and other plants.

  Luka's heart paced with anticipation as his vehicle soon pulled to a full stop. The passenger climbed out and took a deep breath. Since Luka lived for a time with the elves, he enjoyed the fresh scent of plants and trees. However, the newcomer wasn't familiar with this area's smell; thus, Luka took the time to acclimate.

  The part-time farmer recognized some of the crops by smell. But there were also many foreign scents, which made the nature-lover curious. Unfortunately, Luka was here on an official church mission and couldn't wander off to sightsee in this settlement.

  Dagobert and Hildru waited patiently because the two Izan natives wished Luka to form a good impression of this first but vital stop outside church property; this place belonged to the Heavensfell domain. When the VIP finally turned his attention toward his guides, Dagobert waved his arm and said with a friendly smile, "Please come this way, Your Grace." The guide led his guest past multiple farmsteads on the perimeter and entered the central one.

  Luka saw houses arranged in layers of circles. Plots of land surrounded each residence; the visitor noticed they had different uses. The outer fields emphasized growing crops and animal feed, while the inner properties were devoted to livestock such as chicken and cows.

  However, the main house was different than the rest. The land in front laid barren, while the back contained a large storage shed. The outer houses consisted of logs held together with mud and a thatched roof; the central one was far sturdier with stone walls. Moreover, this particular house was triple the size of the adjacent ones. Luka assumed the main house served as an emergency shelter for village residents based on its size and composition.

  Luka realized that the villagers couldn't build this house by themselves. They had to import construction materials from elsewhere. Thus, he assumed that a powerful patron supported this settlement: the king, his mother, or the church.

  Dagobert knocked on the door and yelled, "Chief Waxen! Come out, you old goat!"

  A crashing sound erupted inside the house, followed by stomping and cursing. "Who the fuck called me an old goat?" The front door flew open, and an ill-tempered, bald man glared at the visitors. He spat on the ground when the resident saw who knocked on his door. "I should have known it was you, Bratty Bert!" His thick knuckles slammed on Dagobert's head.

  "Who are you calling bratty, you stinky old goat?" Dagobert winded his right fist to deliver a wallop to the chief's face.

  Suddenly, Hildru pulled her husband back. "Hello, Chief Waxen. We are here on official business." She turned around and waved her arm at the VIP. "This is Luka, who Pope Demetrius assigned to serve as a visiting healer for the Izan Province," she introduced.

  Luka stepped forward. "I'm Luka, a church apprentice. Thank you for having me here," he said with a small nod.

  Chief Waxen ignored his antagonist and straightened his back. He possessed a warrior's physique and loomed over the VIP. "I'm Chief Waxen, and I welcome you to the Renewal Farmsteads," he said and bowed low. "Will you be staying overnight?" the man inquired politely.

  Luka turned toward Hildru.

  The guide shook her head. "No, we're on a tight schedule. Please arrange for your sick residents to see Luka for treatment ASAP," she replied.

  The village leader nodded enthusiastically. "Let's start with my wife. She caught a cold a few weeks back and started coughing. The symptom progressively worsened, and none of our folklore remedies made her better," Waxen explained as he led Luka into his bedroom.

  The two guides followed along while two escorts stayed in the living room with the two animals; the other templars remained outside to watch the horses and carriage.

  The host knocked lightly on the door before opening it. "Berka, I brought a healer to see you."

  "Come in," the woman replied and coughed.

  When Luka entered, he sensed something strange. The visitor's eyes darted around the room.

  The husband noticed this behavior and asked, "What is it?"

  Luka raised his hand to make Waxen quiet and then closed his eyes. He recognized the discomfort as miasma, similar to what Luka found in the forest near Langerlan Village! The mage expanded his magical detection to trace the source. Luka found it -- on the patient!

  Luka slowly approached the bed and looked at Berka. He saw a misshaped, obsidian stone tied with a red string around her neck. "Where did you get that?" Luka asked calmly.

  The woman fingered her accessory with a happy smile. "
Isn't it pretty? I found the stone while taking a walk just outside the village. I made it into a necklace, and all the women became envious when they saw it." Berka's smile widened as she remembered the female villagers praising her jewelry.

  Luka grimaced at her response. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I sense dark energy within the rock. It is making you very sick," he informed her in a somber tone of voice.

  "Really?" she gasped in disbelief. However, Berka was stubborn and refused to give up her beloved jewelry. "How would you know that? Who are you anyway?" she asked between coughs.

  "Berka, don't be rude! This young man is Luka, a church official assigned by the pope to visit Izan as a healer. Are you questioning the qualifications of a healer recognized by Pope Demetrius himself?" Waxen admonished her. The chief bowed from his waist to Luka. "I apologize for my wife's rudeness."

  Luka waved his hand. "It's fine. I was at fault for not introducing myself properly. My name is Luka, an apprentice in the Divine Church of Light on assignment as a visiting healer. I encountered miasma before, and that's why I recognize it. If left untreated, the dark energy could turn a forest into a swamp and sicken all living things nearby."

  "I understand that this gemstone is very precious to you, and you're reluctant to part with it. But if you don't get rid of it soon, the embedded miasma would eventually corrupt this village and render it unlivable for humans, plants, and animals."

  Waxen approached the bed and tried to rip the necklace from her throat!

  "No! Stop it!" Berka yelled as she turned her body away from his hands.

  Dagobert pulled the chief back. "Let's resolve this peacefully," he urged. However, the man understood the village leader's embarrassment at the notion that his wife would jeopardize everything for what? Pure vanity.

  Hildru, on the other hand, rushed forward to stand between Berka and Waxen. The woman was sympathetic to Berka's pride in her unique stone and how it elevated her status in this modest settlement. Thus, she didn't need to rely on her marriage to the village leader.

  "May I speak with Berka alone?" Luka intervened before the two parties escalated their ugly spat over the evil stone.

  All eyes turned toward Berka, who nodded her consent. Once they left, Luka said in a neutral tone of voice, "Madam, you know that you can't keep the necklace and jeopardize this settlement and its inhabitants."

  The woman sighed deeply. "Yes, I'm aware," she admitted honestly. Berka felt infuriated by her husband's attitude. If only he had asked her nicely to give up the jewelry, Berka might be more willing to accommodate him. Instead, Waxen trampled all over her pride as a woman. Berka must push back against her husband to keep her dignity even though her action was harmful to everyone.

  "May I buy it from you?" Luka suggested.

  The listener thought for a moment. The other party was a church official personally backed by the pope. If Luka demanded that Berka hand over her necklace without compensation, she must comply. Otherwise, the church may pressure Berka and Waxen to leave the settlement or force her husband to give up his position.

  "What would you offer in exchange?" she inquired cautiously.

  Luka took out a crate from his dimensional storage and opened the lid. He reached into the box and displayed its contents to her. "I'll give you this box of soybeans seeds. You can grow them as your crop in this village."

  The mage then took out a tofu pudding and passed it to her. "I'll also give you the recipe to make this product and a license to sell it within the Izan province. I sell it within the duchy as a personal business, but I don't have any merchant connections in this area. So it's fine for you to receive a license to sell the pudding. Lastly, I'll add 100 gold coins so that you could purchase a replacement necklace in Sorrel."

  Berka's eyes widened in disbelief. "Your offer is very generous, Your Grace," she admitted with embarrassment because the accessory wasn't worth even a hundredth of the money Luka offered, much less the seeds, recipe, and license. The woman reached for her neck and ripped off the necklace. "Take it."

  Luka accepted with two hands, and then he stored the dangerous item in dimensional storage. He took out a parchment, quill, and inkwell and began to write an official license granting Berka permission to sell the dessert within the Izan Province. Luka added his signature, printed his full name, and affixed the Heavensfell stamp as authentication.

  When Berka read the license, her jaw dropped when she saw the surname of Heavensfell. The villager immediately prostrated before him. "I apologize for my rudeness to the young master of the Heavensfell duke house," she said in a panicked voice. Berka realized that this person was the feudal lord's son and heir!

  "I'm here as a church representative. Please hide my family background," Luka requested.

  The woman climbed to her feet and bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Grace. May I show this document to my husband?" Berka asked.

  Luka nodded.

  Berka called out for her husband to enter. "I received generous compensation for my necklace," she explained and pointed at the box of soybeans seeds and the pudding. Then she passed him the license.

  Chief Waxen read the document, and his thick brows rose as his face turned pale. He prostrated before Luka. "I apologize for my rudeness, Your Grace!"

  Luka repeated his previous words to the man's wife. "I'm here as a church representative. Please don't disclose my background to other villagers."

  "Of course!" the village leader agreed. "The residents have begun to line up outside my house. Please use my living room as a clinic to see patients."

  "Thank you for your accommodation," Luka replied with a smile. "May I ask the two of you to help as my assistants? I need one person to serve as an usher and manage the flow of patients entering and leaving. The other party will help me examine the patients," he explained.

  "I'll be the usher," Waxen volunteered. He stepped out of the house and brought in the first patient -- an older man walking with a cane. Waxen helped the patient sit down and then stood by the door.

  Luka introduced himself as "Luka, a healer from the church." He felt the patient's pulse and listened to the man's breathing. The healer then asked what symptoms the visitor was experiencing and used the information to follow up. These procedures were drilled into Luka by Sister Chenda, who cautioned her student against sole reliance on magic for treatment because it wasn't a cure-all for natural conditions such as old age.

  Indeed, the man before Luka was experiencing typical signs of the aging process, and the healer had no cure for that. Instead, Luka focused on easing the soreness in the patient's back so that he could engage in regular activities. Luka gave the man some ointment to apply to his back and ended the consultation.

  Waxen led the patient out and returned with the second villager. This process continued until Luka saw all the villagers requiring treatment. He applied Sister Chenda's teachings to deal with old aches and pains sustained from manual labor. But one person needed a healing spell to fix his broken arm.

  The visiting healer climbed into his carriage and left the Renewal Farmsteads in the late afternoon.

  The healed patients witnessed Luka's departure with hearts full of gratitude and prayers to Altima for his safe journey.

  Chapter 95

  Izan (Part 3)

  While sitting inside the cabin, Luka tried to ignore the frequent bumps and shakes from the carriage driving over the uneven dirt road. He took out the necklace and examined the black gemstone.

  [Put that away!] Bel cried out.

  Hoot! Gripper agreed because he was susceptible to the miasma, which had expelled his family from its former home in the forest.

  Luka returned the foreboding item to his dimensional storage.

  [Why did you take it out? Are you trying to contaminate us all?] The familiar demanded to know. Pa! Bel slapped the teenager's knee as punishment.

  "I was wondering why the dark energy appeared suddenly. Frankly, I'm concerned that there might be a new portal releasing miasma to this l
and," Luka explained.

  [Probably.] The rabbit agreed. [But trying to find the new portal is like searching for a needle in a haystack.]

  "Nonetheless, I'm the best person to deal with it," Luka declared confidently. He closed his eyes and extended his magical detection in hopes of getting lucky in finding the elusive hole. Unfortunately, his search proved fruitless, and the vehicle stopped an hour later.

  When the passenger climbed out, Luka saw the sun setting on the horizon. But its sunlight reflected on the golden wheat thrust in the air. The sight of many acres of this crop thriving brought a smile to Luka's face.

  Dagobert led the VIP to a nearby house and knocked on the door.

  "Coming!" someone shouted from the interior. A middle-aged man with a dark tan answered the door. His gruff demeanor broke into a smile as he extended his arms to hug Dagobert. "Look at you, you big lug!"

  "Hello, Uncle Ferris," Dagobert greeted as he exchanged hugs. "I see that you will have a big harvest this season!"

  "Altima blessed us this year," the uncle replied modestly. "So why are you here?" Ferris asked.

  "I'm serving as a guide. May I introduce Luka, a visiting healer," Dagobert replied while stepping behind Luka.

  "My name is Luka, a church apprentice on assignment as a traveling healer," Luka greeted with a polite bow.

  "Wow! You are so young, lad!" the farmer exclaimed. "But you came at the right time. My wife slipped and strained her hip a while back. She's still experiencing pain whenever she walks. Perhaps you could take a look," he pleaded with clasped hands.

  "Sure!" Luka agreed with a smile. He followed Ferris inside the house and entered the kitchen. The guest saw a middle-aged woman with a plump figure busy chopping vegetables and dumping them into the pot. She leaned on her left leg and placed little of her body weight on the other foot.