A Solitary God In A Dark Multiverse

Chapter 12

A few hours after returning home I found myself just outside of the Silver Xana. I felt the rays of the sun on my skin. I had three quest-request forms in my inventory. All of them were requests for healing. I smiled as I took off in the direction of the quest-requesters.

Isadora had been happy to see me and happier still to learn that I felt like tackling healing quests today. She had no idea how skilled I was at healing already. And she didn"t have even the slightest clue as to my true intentions: I wanted the system to unlock the divine powers I possessed over the subdomain of healing and maybe even my influence over the domain of magic.

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I was walking in the direction of the first house I was to visit and heal someone inside of. I wasn"t far from my first destination, and my plan was to go to the farthest house first and then work my way back to the Silver Xana.

The sky was clear and blue above me. And around me, there were some people idly going about their business. Some of them recognized me from the false memories implanted in them by the system. Most people didn"t recognize me though and still paid me no mind.

I paid them no mind and instead focused on my thoughts.

"I wonder what sort of powers I"ll unlock from gaining influence over the school of healing..." I wondered, a smile on my face as I contemplated the sort of amazing, literally life-saving abilities I might be unlocking soon.

Right as the system was about to react to my statement, indicated by a sighing sound I heard in my mind and not externally, I received a pleasant alert.

[Alert: The human named Alma has uttered a prayer to your persona. She has asked for a golden apple and for something to numb some tooth pain she is feeling. Would you like to respond affirmatively to her request?] The system, a more automated version of it anyway, asked me.

I grinned to no one in particular and responded to its request with words of affirmation. When I did so I received another automated sounding alert.

[Alert: Response noted. "Cosecha" has created an apple for Alma and the elderly human woman is under the influence of a "Numb Pain" spell.]

I nodded as the notification vanished from sight shortly after coming into view. And a second later the voice of the system filled my mind as its textbox appeared in my mind"s eye.

[So you want to begin to understand magic?] The system asked me, curiosity clear in its voice.

"Yes I do. I want to understand everything." I told the system, quite confidently.

[We see... In that case, we might as well aid you, shouldn"t we? Here you go.] The system told me, right as I felt my power increasing.

[We"ve gone ahead and unlocked your powers from the subdomain of healing. Each "school of magic" is both a school and a subdomain.] My constant companion whispered in my mind.


[There are ten basic schools of magic. In order to be able to earn the second tier of influence over the domain of magic you need to hit the first tier of influence over each of the basic schools of magic.] The system told me, while I excitedly waited to learn what my healing abilities were.

It was shortly after that message that I learned of the powers granted to me by the newest subdomain whose powers were unlocked by the system.

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[Alert:

The system has seen fit to unlock your powers and abilities that come with the subdomain of healing. Congratulations!

Details about the subdomain of healing:

This subdomain governs healing magic, medicine, and natural healing. It is a powerful subdomain that partic.i.p.ates in every attempt to heal someone that is undertaken.

At the moment your ability to heal people is limited to physical wounds and mundane conditions, due to the limitations of the tutorial. You cannot regenerate limbs, heal minds, but you"ll be able to do so before the tutorial ends, surpa.s.sing mortal and magical healing outright.

That said, defeating death itself and gaining the power to truly resurrect people will require you to become a powerful G.o.d. Work towards gaining power and worshipers so that there may come a day when reality itself cannot limit you.

You gain influence over this subdomain by practicing healing powers on applicable targets and by gaining worshipers who worship you as a healer.

Pa.s.sive Powers:

Restorative energy manipulation: This pa.s.sive power allows you to idly channel energy that undoes wounds and defeats discomfort. You no longer need to use magic to cure wounds, and any effects that suppress the effects of magical healing on those you intend to heal are ignored, allowing you to heal at maximum efficiency.

Rejection Of Discomfort: In the case of G.o.ds an aura is an emanation that surrounds them and projects certain beneficial or harmful effects to lesser creatures who stand in their presence.

At the lowest tier of influence over the subdomain of healing, you gain an aura that grants nearby creatures that are neutral or friendly towards you the effects of a numbed pain spell. This aura extends beyond you in every direction for four and a half meters.

Once a day* you can supercharge this aura and for ten minutes it transforms into what you gain at the second tier of influence over the subdomain of healing: an aura of regeneration which heals neutral and friendly creatures in your presence for a hitpoint every half minute. Lesser creatures suspect that you are somehow responsible for their healing or abated discomfort but unless you wish for them to realize it they don"t.

You can suppress this aura whenever you wish. This aura"s effects can be mixed with the effects of other auras that affect friendly and neutral creatures. There exist auras that target hostile creatures as well, ones that drain their life-energy or sap their hostility from them.

Health Map: This is a pa.s.sive power that allows you to detect the health of creatures on your minimap. You have already seen a weakened version of it, innately, but this is greatly enhanced and is effectively the prognosis spell ambiently applied to your minimap.

Active Powers:

Symptom Removal: This power allows you to target a disease a creature is suffering from and do away with a symptom. At this tier of influence, this is only usable on non-magical diseases, but it can be used on any non-magical disease. You can use this power once a day.

Pain Immunity: This is a targeted power that renders someone unable to feel pain. It is usable three times a day, and each usage lasts for five minutes. If used before a battle it can be immensely powerful and free you up to not have to cast numb pain on creatures mid-battle.

Effect Of Blessing:

Blessing a creature with the effects of this subdomain grants them enhanced healing. This is more complex than it sounds, as it causes them to heal more and be healed more. At the lowest tier of influence over the subdomain of healing, this causes their heals to heal for an additional 25% of what they were going to heal for.

On the other hand, if you curse it using this domain its ability to heal naturally or supernaturally will be significantly diminished. Cursing it using this subdomain is ensuring that each time it is wounded is more significant than it would be otherwise.

For example, if they healed someone for 20 hitpoints, that person would instead gain 25 hitpoints. Attempts to heal them are doubly effective, restoring 100% more health than intended.

A Note About Synergy: Domains and subdomains are synergistic.

What this means is that domains and subdomains interact and empower each other aggressively. As you gain more influence over a.s.sorted domains you will gain distinct powers in domains long under your control because of the power of the domains you"ve just begun to influence. Blessings also feel this effect, and the domains under your influence the more creatures you can create when you gain the ability to make life.

*: This designation is easily changed. Once a day powers are powers that are archetypical for G.o.ds of the domain, and as you increase your divine might the effects of these powers and your ability to use them increase.

Special Note regarding the Tutorial:

The powers, active or pa.s.sive alike, that you gain access to during the tutorial are not all of the powers that the first tier of influence unlocks. The tutorial keeps the strongest powers, active and pa.s.sive alike, locked away.

It also decreases the number of times a year, a month, a week, or a day, you can use the powers you have that sort of limitation. Basically, you"re a weakened version of who you"ll become.]

The second I finished reading the lengthy notification my minimap blinked out of existence for a moment, before reappearing with new symbols under each shape. These symbols were numbers that I could tell were the hitpoints of each shape and the creatures the shapes represented.

It was at that point that I reached the door of the house I was heading towards. I smiled and knocked on the door. I waited for a second and then a voice came from within the house.

"Are you a healer?" The voice asked, pain audible within it.

"Yes I am! I accepted your quest and I"m a traveling druid. May I come in?" I asked, knowing that it was likely that whoever was rendered immobile from the pain they were in.

"Oh thank goodness. The door is unlocked, please come in. I can"t exactly move." The voice said to me, and I smiled and opened the door.