The elderly man screamed as the silver flames fell upon him, quickly spreading over his chest. Both Hannah and Donovan looked at me in shock as the elderly man writhed on the ground and cried out in pain.

  “Wait, what are you doing?!” the [Priest] exclaimed as he stepped foot into the room.

  “He’ll be fine, trust me,” I said, raising a hand placatingly. “Just watch.”

  Donovan hesitated. Even Hannah seemed to be skeptical of what I was doing. But the two of them exchanged a glance, before they both agreed to stay back and watch.

  I looked back down towards the elderly man afflicted by the Blight. He was still screaming from my [Sacred Flame] burning him. But as he raised his hands to clutch at his chest, his arms didn’t burn.

  But why? The reason was simple— it was because the Blight hadn’t spread to his arms, remaining only on his chest.

  At a first glance, the Blight looked similar to the effects of being struck by a [Deathbolt] or the like. There was a black stain that covered the body of the elderly man that was just like Nicky when she had been struck by a [Deathbeam]. However, that was where the similarities ended.

  Where the [Deathbeam] also caused discoloration on other parts of Nicky’s body that hadn’t been struck— causing her veins to pop out, and her skin to become a pallid color— the Blight did nothing of the like.

  The Blight was simply a black thing that clung onto the elderly man’s body like a crust of dried blood, looking like it was eating away at the flesh it was touching— spreading more and more until it would envelop him whole.

  And that was likely what it was doing. It was not an illness, which was why it was barely contagious. The Blight was an actual living creature that was created from blood magic, and was now feasting on the bodies of its victims to survive and reproduce.

  Like a fungus that spread its spores— this Blight was a disgusting abomination created by magic in a way that I had only seen done once before.

  That was why I burned it away with my [Sacred Flame].

  I stared at the elderly man as he continued to wriggle on the ground, but he was no longer screaming in pain like he was before. Instead, he was not panting as the Blight covering his chest began to fade away, burnt by my silver fire.

  After showing [Sacred Flame] to the twins and their friends, I came up with a hypothesis as to how the Skill worked— and it was that it wouldn’t burn any targets that I didn’t want to burn.

  It seemed that I was right, because while the Blight was being targeted by my [Sacred Flame], the rest of his body was not. And that was why his thrashing stopped. That was why he calmed down.

  But as the Blight was burnt away from my [Sacred Flame], his flesh underneath was revealed. And what I saw was what I had suspected. His skin had been eaten away, and so had part of his innards. I could see bone and chunks of flesh missing— part of his ribcage was even poking out, visible to the naked eye.

  Reverend Donovan stepped into the room, looking over my shoulder as Hannah stayed back at the doorway, watching from the side.

  “Incredible…” the [Priest] whispered as he stared at the healed man. “How did you cure him?”

  “Well, he’s not cured just yet,” I said, before holding a hand out. I used [Healing Touch] on him, and his flesh slowly began to regrow. When I was finished and the last of the wounds faded away, I drew back and dusted my hands off. “Now, he’s cured.”

  Both Hannah and Donovan looked at me in awe. They evidently had many questions for me, so I just explained my hypothesis to them. Although, I obviously left out all the details about me being a Death God.

  “It’s not a disease. It’s not a plague. It’s some kind of magically-created organism, if I had to guess. Like a fungi that feeds on living people instead of rotting flesh. And that’s why healing spells won’t work. Because all you’d be doing is giving the Blight more food, whilst simultaneously healing it.”

  “But how do you know this?” Donovan asked my round-eyed. “Even I wasn’t able to deduce the true nature of this Blight…”

  “I have a Skill,” I lied with a shrug. “I can tell whether someone is alive or not with it— and it told me the Blight is a living being.”

  In reality, it was because I recognized the nature of the blood magic that created this abomination. Because I knew that the creator of this Blight was one of my most trusted companions of my past life.

  Laffyr the Body Horror.

  She was one of my most ruthless followers who desired nothing more than to twist the human body to an unrecognizable horror which she believed to be ‘perfection’. I hadn’t known what happened to her during the final battle. I had hoped she and my other closest friends would survive.

  And it seemed like she did. Because she was the only one who could even be capable of doing this.

  But then the question was why would she do this?

  The war was over. We had lost, just like we planned. What did this achieve other than bringing pointless suffering to the world?

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  I didn’t know the answer to this question. However, I just knew that she had to be the one behind this Blight. I wanted to seek her out— ask her many questions.

  But I couldn’t do that for now. Instead, I focused on what I had to do. I discarded these thoughts plaguing my mind as I swept my gaze around the room of those who were afflicted by the Blight. I heard their pained moans— they held out a hand towards me, seeing what I had done for the elderly man.

  “Please—”

  “Save us…”

  “End our suffering… please…”

  “I will,” I said as I started towards them, creating a silver ball of fire in each of my hands. “But I apologize, this will hurt a little bit.

  And that was what I did as they screamed. I repeated the same process to each and every one of the people in the room. They all cried out in agony at first— when I began to purge their body of the Blight with my [Sacred Flame].

  But once the Blight was gone, and I healed all of their lingering wounds with my [Aura Of Light], they no longer let out anguished screams. Instead, they thanked me profusely, crowding around me, even though they could hardly stand or walk.

  “Thank you…”

  “Oh, kind and benevolent [Healer], I owe you my life—”

  “Thank the Goddess— you have saved me…”

  I just smiled back at them, unsure of what to say. Because I didn’t even know how to feel. In my past life, I was not used to receiving this kind of adoration. Instead, I’d be the subject of adulation and hate for being the Death God.

  But now, I was being praised by the very same people who would condemn me back then. I had mixed feelings about this entire situation. On the one hand, it was nice to be accepted instead of being hated for once.

  But on the other hand… it almost felt like their gratitude was disingenuous— that they only directed their thanks to me because they thought I was a [Healer]. After all, there were countless times back in my past life where I would save the life of another as the Death God, and they scorned me for it.

  My eyes darted to the side as I saw Hannah smiling in relief as she looked over those I had saved from the Blight.

  And that was another reason why I was fond of the young girl— not just because of the remnants of Eli’s soul swaying my feelings, but because she did not once look at me in fear, despite knowing my true identity.

  After a few more minutes of being praised and thanked, Reverend Donovan began to usher them out of the room.

  “Don’t push yourselves,” he told them as he called over a familiar-looking [Nun]. “Sister Elia will tend to you until you are fully recovered.”

  The [Nun] spotted me, recognizing me from the other day. Then she looked over at those who I had just healed from the Blight, before she bowed her head respectfully at me. She didn’t say another word, before leading them off.

  “I can’t believe you figured it out so quickly!” Hannah said as she ran up to me, holding me by the hands. “You’re a genius, Eli!”

  I just chuckled and waved a hand dismissively. “It was nothing, really. I’m telling you, if it was an actual disease, I probably wouldn’t have been able to cure it. My healing spells are quite basic, after all.”

  “Nevertheless, all of Velmond— no, the Sanctus Empire— is indebted to you. Because of this discovery, I am sure we will be able to tackle this Blight much more efficiently than before.” Reverend Donovan shook his head, before placing a hand on his chest. “I will personally write to the Church, letting them know what you discovered today, and I will be sure to give you credit for your discovery.”

  My eyes flickered at that, and I had to suppress a grin. I nodded back at him as I bowed my head.

  “I would be extremely grateful for that, Reverend.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. It’s the least I could do.” The [Priest] shook his head. “Especially after how I tricked you to come here.”

  “Oh, it was really no worries, Reverend,” I said as I waved a hand off. “After all…”

  And I saw the glint coming from the corner of my eye— the blue boxes that filled my vision after what I had accomplished here. Considering that what I had done here was quite a feat, I had expected to gain at least a few levels from curing the Blight.

  But the notifications that inundated my vision was worth even more than just a couple of levels. And I could no longer suppress my smile any longer as I nodded back at the [Priest].

  “It was only my pleasure.”

  *ding!*

  You have reached Level 4!

  +2 [Magic]

  +1 [Dexterity]

  +1 Free Point

  *ding!*

  You have reached Level 5!

  +1 [Vitality]

  +1 Free Point

  *ding!*

  You have earned the Title [Velmond’s Blessing]!

  You have gained the Title Skill: [Basic Blessing Of Life]

  +10 [Vitality]

  +5 [Magic]

  *ding!*

  You are now eligible for a new Class upgrade:

  [Healer Of The Hearth]

  A rare specialized Class that serves others under the guidance of the Goddess of Life. A [Healer Of Hearth] shows kindness and offers protection to those who need it, asking for very little in return. But at the same time, they will not shy away from causing pain if it is necessary to bring about healing…

  +12 [Magic]

  +5 [Vitality]

  Finally, I thought as I stared at the blue box that revealed itself to me. A [Healer Class].

  And it seemed like a good Class for me to use too. So I accepted it without any hesitation. After all, it was exactly what I was looking for.

  *ding!*

  You are now a [Healer Of The Hearth]!

  You have gained the Class Skills: [Basic Light Magic Control], [Boon Of Vitality]

  Class Skills Upgraded:

  [Aura Of Light] -> [Lesser Domain Of Light]

  [Healing Touch] -> [Heal]

  +12 [Magic]

  +5 [Vitality]

  Name: Nox (Eli)

  Race: Human

  Rank: Bronze - Level 5

  Class: [Healer Of The Hearth]

  Class Skills: [Lesser Domain Of Light], [Heal], [Sacred Flame], [Basic Light Magic Control], [Boon Of Vitality]

  Titles: [Nascent Death God], [Velmond’s Blessing]

  Title Skills: [Death Magic Mastery], [Basic Blessing Of Life]

  General Skills: [Quick Dash]

  Attributes:

  [Strength: 17]

  [Speed: 26]

  [Magic: 547]

  [Vitality: 44]

  [Dexterity: 30]

  Free Points: 26