There were only three commonly practiced religions for humans in this world: Byg'm?k, W?hppr, and Keysbrügr. Known collectively as either the faith or three moons or the three angelic faiths of the Land of Men, each of these religions worshiped one of the three Seraphims, sovereigns among angels, and, on the paper, each faith had its unique focus and principles.

  First, the Byg'm?k Faith was dedicated to the Seraphim of Love. Followers of Byg'm?k emphasized compassion, kindness, and the power of love to heal and unite. Temples dedicated to this faith were often centers of charity and aid, where the needy could find solace and support. The teachings of Byg'm?k encouraged believers to foster love in all its forms, be it familial, romantic, or platonic, seeing it as the ultimate force for good in the world.

  Next, the Keysbrügr Faith worshiped the Seraphim of Selflessness. Followers of this faith believed in the virtues of sacrifice, altruism, and serving others without seeking personal gain. Temples dedicated to Keysbrügr were often involved in community service, providing for those in need and encouraging acts of generosity. The doctrine taught that true fulfillment came from putting the needs of others before one's own and that selfless actions were the highest form of worship.

  Last but not least, the W?hppr Faith revered the Seraphim of Peace. This religion focused on the ideals of harmony, non-violence, and the resolution of conflict. Adherents of W?hppr sought to live lives of tranquility and to promote peace both within themselves and in the broader community. Temples of W?hppr were serene places of meditation and refuge, where one could learn the arts of diplomacy and inner peace. The teachings stressed the importance of understanding and empathy as tools to resolve disputes and create lasting peace.

  The temple I arrived at was dedicated to W?hppr, the Seraphim of Peace. The structure was awe-inspiring, with its tall, pristine white walls and golden domes gleaming in the sunlight. Ivy climbed gracefully up the columns, adding a touch of nature to the grand architecture. In the center of the courtyard stood a magnificent statue of a beautiful humanoid being.

  At first glance, it could be mistaken for a woman, but the three pairs of wings spreading majestically from its back marked it unmistakably as a Seraphim. The figure's serene expression captured the essence of peace that W?hppr embodied.

  As I looked around, I noticed the kind of people who were entering and exiting the temple. The flow of individuals resembled what one might see in a bustling medical institution. Some were limping, supported by companions, while others clutched wounds or held their heads in pain. The temple was a place of healing, providing sanctuary and medical care to those in need. Despite its focus on peace, it fulfilled the role of a medical facility, much like any other temple on this continent.

  This was why, the moment we entered the city, Dan had sent his injured comrade here instead of anywhere else. It was the best place to send him, and that was usually the case for any city. For the injured or ill, there was no better place to be sent than the local temple. And there was a reason for that, humans like me, Highbreeds.

  For as long as they existed, Highbreeds as a subrace of humanity had their history intertwined with that of the three angelic faiths. Some books I've read about the Highbreed subrace mentioned them as a sort of asset that belonged solely to the faith, and that's really how it feels. At least, it has felt that way for the very recent few hundred years.

  As the Emperor’s seven Kings were caught up by the inevitable thing that is aging and death, royal families that weren’t already tied through marriage to a Highbreed sought strength, which could only be gained through the system. This quest for power often led them to marry Highbreeds, much like the Wei? family did three generations ago by transitioning into a Highbreed family through marriage to the Highbreed princess of the W?hppr faith. Marrying a Highbreed guaranteed their descendants access to the system, something marrying either a Verdenkind or a Peon couldn't ensure.

  This is why for the past few centuries, along with being known as "assets" of the faith, Highbreeds also became synonymous with nobility. However, even then, it was still an elite minority within the subrace as a whole. Most Highbreeds remained tied, as they had always been, to the faith. The reason temples were usually the best places to head for the injured or the ill was because most priests and priestesses running the temples were usually, if not always, Highbreeds. And one thing Highbreeds excel at more than any other human subrace is healing-related and holy-related skills.

  Knowing how to capitalize on the assets at their disposal, or perhaps because it was simply the most natural development, the faith’s temples became places that dispensed healing and purification, regardless of the precepts the faith they represent advertised.

  After asking around for directions, I began roaming through the temple. It was an openly accessible place, with just a few guards here and there, but they didn’t do much to stop me. They seemed like they were just there for show, much like guards in a hospital.

  Eventually, after navigating through the maze of corridors and quiet rooms, I arrived at the place where he, or perhaps it was more accurate to say "they,"were.

  The room was bathed in the warm light of late afternoon, filtered through tall, narrow windows with pointed arches. Rows of wooden beds lined each side, each occupied by convalescing individuals. The soft murmur of conversations and occasional groans of pain filled the air. The high ceiling, supported by exposed wooden beams, gave the room a grand yet somber atmosphere.

  In one of the beds near the center of the room, a young man lay resting, his face twisted in a mix of frustration and pain. Standing beside him were two men, engaged in a heated argument. The young man's left arm was missing, the wound neatly bandaged with pristine white cloth. He was the first to notice me, his eyes locking onto mine, causing the argument to cease abruptly. As silence fell, the one of two men he was having an argument with followed the young man's gaze and turned to see me as well. It was Dan.

  "Hi, you three," I greeted.

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  "If it isn't Miss Magician," Dan, after a short pause, asked, "What are you doing here?"

  "I was walking around, visiting the city," I explained, raising the bag I was carrying. "When I arrived in the vicinity, I remembered that you told me yesterday that you would be here. So, I thought, why not visit? Perhaps I've chosen the wrong timing."

  "Not at all," Dan boomed. "You couldn't have chosen a better time, right?" He glanced at Eric, the one-armed peon. Eric seemed bitter to have to, but he nodded.

  "I thought so," Dan nodded. "What kind of fella wouldn't be happy to receive such a lovely visit?" he added teasingly.

  Eric merely grunted in response.

  "Perhaps Miss Magician here will be able to bring him back to reason," suggested the other Verdenkind of the group.

  "Oh, you're right," Dan agreed.

  "Bring him back to reason?" I asked, looking at them curiously.

  "Yes, Miss Arianna," Dan began. "This genius over here," he gestured towards Eric, "just narrowly avoided death and received healing only yesterday. And already he feels like he doesn't belong here anymore."

  Eric shot Dan a glare. "I've been healed. I'm fine now and should be out there, instead of... instead of rotting here."

  "Rotting?! Brother, you've only been here for half a day, not even a full day," barked the other Verdenkind in a voice that attracted the attention of most people around.

  I looked at Eric, who avoided my gaze, reaching onto where his arm both began and ended, his jaw clenched.

  Since, at that moment, words were expected of me, I said softly, "I won't pretend I know what you're going through, I don't. But I do know that healing takes time. Even though I don't have any healing-related skills, I know that they don't just heal you overnight."

  That's right. For the most part, like most skills, healing magic or any other healing-related skill aren't that potent at a low level. At a low level, some spells and magic don't even allow the healer to actually heal wounds. What they do is increase the speed of recovery, allowing the injury to cicatrize as the body would naturally. Another thing they often do, at low level, is increase HP, and while one might be tempted to believe that HP is the same as "health", it's not HP is to one's health what SP is to the fatigue percentage stat, relying on one another but not equivalent.

  It's only at mid-level that healing-type magic does proper healing, and only at high level can miracle-like things like limb or organ regeneration occur.

  "It's normal to want to get back to what you were doing before," I continued, "but healing takes time. You have to let yourself recover fully."

  Eric sighed deeply. "I just... I don't want to feel useless. Sitting around here makes me feel like a burden."

  "Still, you should take time to recover," I said firmly. "Everyone needs time to heal, and pushing yourself too hard too soon could make things worse. It’s not about being weak; it’s about being smart and giving yourself the chance to get truly better. It’s not about dying stupidly."

  Dan nodded approvingly. "See? Even Miss Magician agrees with us. That last part was a little harsh, but you should listen to her, little brother."

  Eric’s shoulders slumped a bit, and he finally looked at me before once again averting his gaze, bringing the white sheet over his head. "I'm tired. Leave me."

  Dan shook his head, sighed, and then looked at me, raising both hands helplessly before motioning with his head for us to head outside. "We're gone then," said the other Verdenkind. "Call for us if you need anything."

  Eric didn’t respond. He only made an unintelligible sound from under the bed.

  As we arrived at a corridor, Dan turned to me. "Thanks, really. You've literally saved Eric twice in barely a day, first in the middle of the woods against those bear-like creatures…"

  "They’re called Stonegales Ursus."

  "I… see, you saved him from these Stonegales, and now here. Perhaps you're one of those guardian angels the faith talks about?"

  I chuckled. "Far from it. And I didn't know you were a believer."

  "Oh, I didn't tell you? I am. Especially since what happened yesterday," he said, managing to make a joke of their bad fortune.

  His friend, however, cleared his throat, changing the subject. "So, Miss, can I help you with anything? Oh, no need to look at me like that. We could tell you weren't just here for Eric."

  "I see," I said, feeling relieved that I wouldn’t need gloves. "That makes it easy for me. I'll make it brief. This city is just a stop for me, not my ultimate destination. I plan on leaving the day after tomorrow. I need your help."

  Sensing a potential misunderstanding, I immediately clarified, "It's not for you to escort me, of course."

  Dan chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Don't worry, Miss Magician, I could've told as much. Besides, even if you were, I think after that last mess up, we've learned our lesson." He glanced at his friend, who shared a nod with him.

  "I see."

  "So, what is it that I can help you with that doesn't involve us escorting you?"

  "I need you to hook me up with another Handler."

  ***

  After deciding to leave the city the day after tomorrow, I began making a list of things I needed to provision myself for the road, things like salt, soap, cooking materials, oils. These were things I realized I hadn't thought about when making my escape from the chateau.

  To be fair, it wasn't like I could have stolen those from the chateau; that would have been a bad idea. Anyway, while I managed to acquire some supplies from the bandits' camps, there might still be something I need but don't realize yet.

  When venturing into the market, I was looking for those elusive items. As I seemingly aimlessly wandered through the city's streets, I reflected on my journey so far. Remembering how the Handler group got absolutely demolished and how they would've died without my intervention, I realized I might not have thought things through as much as I believed I had. Most of my plans revolved around making an escape from the chateau; then, I thought I'd just travel from city to city to eventually reach my destination. I'd learned from reading geography and history books the names and situations of all the cities I would pass through, but that's the extent of my planning.

  For someone who planned on defeating monsters to level up along the way, I know too little about the monsters I might encounter on the roads between cities. Realizing I had been too relaxed, I planned to fix that in the two-day window I had to prepare for my next journey. The immediate plan of action I came up with was to contact Dan. Despite being more of a wannabe Handler than an actual Handler, he could put me in contact with a proper Handler.

  Not to make the journey with me, of course. I planned on doing this journey alone as long as it was possible. I needed that freedom to carry on with my leveling and harvesting. What I needed from an experienced Handler was information: what kind of creatures I might encounter on the road, their typical levels, and what other dangers I should be wary of, things experienced Handlers are familiar with.

  As it turned out and as I expected despite being a wannabe Handler, Dan knew just the right person in the city. Together, we went on to find the man who could provide me with the information I was looking for. That was, of course, in exchange for a little gift that left my pocket 3? lighter. At first, I thought it wasn't very fair since the man's knowledge was limited to the region. But then I remembered the saying: "Fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." I realized it was for the best that we found someone who only knew the region but knew it and its danger very well rather than someone who knew about many regions but knew little about them and their danger.