To Hell with Being a Saint, I’m a Doctor - Chapter 233: Let The Fireworks Begin

With his attention, the ritual began.

Ray, with a serious expression, placed his hand on the chest of the middle-aged man.

As he sharpened his mana to probe like a needle, he began to feel the man’s Qi as if it were being drawn into his head.

“Quite intricate. It’s been made complexly.”

His mana road, winding and narrow, was unlike his own Autobahn-like one.

Yet, it felt powerful, inefficient but capable of emitting strong mana.

Spreading the mana wider, he quickly identified the problem.

“Huh?”

A tiny Qi vessel was twisted, not just bent.

It seemed to have entangled with other mana roads.

Unable to speak, he clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Tsk tsk, rushed mana control and made it worse.”

It was a pathetic sight, not even a beginner’s mistake.

He gathered mana in his palm and shot it at once towards the middle-aged man’s mana road.

Paang-!

His two hands on the chest vibrated, releasing one of the Qi vessels.

But there were still many entangled ones.

As he collected and released mana, the middle-aged man gobbled it up like a rumble.

“Eh?”

Confused, he poured mana again.

A significant amount of energy flowed into him, devoured as if by someone starved.

After several more attempts, Ray frowned and withdrew his hand.

“Hoo…”

Hael, worried, asked, “Is something not working?”

“Didn’t you feed him for 3 years? He sucked in mana like a pig. I thought he was an orc chief, not a noble.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The mana road is twisted. It seems to have entangled with the neighboring mana roads, like a river overflowing and rotting the nearby bushes.”

“Ma, mana road twisted!”

She turned pale and slumped down.

“The mana road can’t be fixed… Melting and remaking it seems the only way.”

At her despairing voice, Ray tilted his head.

“It can be fixed, you know?”

“No need to force it. Thanks for your concern.”

He calmly spoke to Hael, who looked as if she were in silent prayer.

“Why melt the mana road? It could kill him. It’s better to unravel it bit by bit.”

“Unraveling a tangled mana road? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Even the grandmaster of magical arts can’t do it. How could anyone handle a road made by another when they can’t even manage their own?”

“Even if made by another, the basics are similar.”

Ray patted his chest, indicating trust in himself.

No mana road was as complex as his own, intricately crafted like well-made blood vessels, covering every part of the body. Handling the middle-aged man’s mana road was like a 2×2 cube puzzle to him.

But to Hael, unaware of this, his words seemed like mere boasts.

“No need to create more trouble. We’ll handle the rest.”

“Just sit and watch. The mana road isn’t too complex to fix.”

He had even fixed Aira’s mana road.

There was no reason he couldn’t untangle a Qi vessel, slightly more intricate than that of an ordinary human.

As he placed his hand again on the chest of the middle-aged man, she could no longer forcibly stop him.

If he were forcefully separated now, the tribe leader might explode suddenly, creating a tense atmosphere.

“Uh-uh… Be careful.”

With a voice filled with worry, the impact of mana started again.

Bang!

Every time Ray’s arm shook, the man spat out blood violently.

Although it was evidence that the Qi was being released well, to an outsider, it seemed like something was terribly wrong.

“Stop, stop it. The tribe leader will die at this rate…!”

Mistaking the plea for stopping as an instruction to speed up, the shaking became even faster.

Boom! Boom!

Now, a thunderous noise like walls crumbling could be heard.

With the aftermath of mana, the floor was slightly sunken, causing concern that it wasn’t just releasing the Qi but bursting it.

The noise continued for hours.

Just when she could no longer bear it and was about to intervene, Ray detached his palm, exhaling deeply.

“Phew… Let’s take a break.”

While patting his shoulder and talking, his nonchalant demeanor starkly contrasted with the surroundings stained with the middle-aged man’s blood.

But Haeri couldn’t reprimand him, for unlike before, the tribe leader’s complexion had noticeably improved.

“Did you really untangle the clumped mana road?”

Haeri asked incredulously, and he shook his head.

“Not all of it. I’ve only managed to release about two-thirds of it. If this pig-like mana road hadn’t kept absorbing mana, I could have finished earlier…”

He glared as if looking at a sworn enemy, but in reality, it was almost admirable.

“If you need anything, just say it. I’ll do my best to find it.”

“Ah, then please prepare some easy-to-eat rations and nutritious porridge. If there’s no ration, jerky would be fine too.”

At his words, Haeri hurriedly signaled at the entrance of the cave.

While she fetched the requested items, he took a sip of water magically created from his hand and immediately started working again.

This time, he placed one hand on the abdomen and the other on the chest, starting to generate mana.

Thrumming-

With a bizarre resonance, the middle-aged man’s body began to tremble again.

A single drop of sweat slid down Ray’s face, who seemed inexhaustible.

A day had passed since he began fixing the mana road.

Staggering with exhaustion from not sleeping and focusing all his energy on controlling the Qi, he spoke.

“Uh-uh… I’m dying… Do you have something to eat?”

Seeing his eyes filled with fatigue, Haeri quickly brought him some jerky.

“Have you finished? Did you do a good job?”

He asked, full of expectation, and Ray shook his head slightly.

“Not yet, as I said before. It’ll take at least three days.”

Even a small twist in the mana road, because it was him, could be resolved in about three days.

For anyone else, it would have been an unimaginable task, so Haeri nodded, easily understanding.

“I see. I won’t ask anymore unnecessarily.”

Without responding much to her words, he stuffed the jerky into his mouth.

Without chewing much, he swallowed and immediately placed his palms on the sides of the tribe leader’s abdomen and neck.

As mana flowed in, his mana circulated more smoothly in the tribe leader’s body than before.

“Still holding up… The mana road is more formidable than I thought.”

Despite such impact, the mana road was too sturdy, only holding up without any Qi being released.

He adjusted and began to slowly untangle it at this pace.

Ray decided to let go of his impatience.

Showing haste here would only increase the risk.

Since he had roughly memorized the location of the mana road, there was little chance of making a mistake.

He gradually reduced the amount of mana he was pouring in.

“Why isn’t it coming out?”

“Could something have happened?”

The elders’ worries were significant.

The health of the tribe leader had been entrusted to the Saint, but it was still hard to just stand by and watch.

When this state continued for a day, an elder who could no longer bear it stood up.

“I can’t just stand by and watch. I’ll go have a look.”

Despite Haeri Elder’s warning, how could he just ignore the tribe leader’s weakness?

Entering the cave’s entrance, he acknowledged Haeri.

“I was worried, so I came to check the status. How is the tribe leader?”

Though not very pleased due to Ray’s prior message not to enter, she politely answered the elder.

“The Saint said the mana road is tangled.”

“What, what!”

Ray’s complexion darkened as the elder’s loud voice echoed through the cave.

Noticing him, Haeri frowned and scolded.

“Please speak quietly.”

“Leaving the tribe leader to such a young and pale boy! Moreover, the mana road is tangled? Such a serious matter should have been discussed among the elders! Haeri Elder, I didn’t expect this from you, thoughtless!”

“As you see, this child has a deep understanding of mana, more than us, at least.”

Initially skeptical, she had now somewhat recognized his power.

But unlike her, it seemed the elder didn’t trust the Saint.

Before Haeri could intervene, the elder strode forward and pushed Ray aside.

“Move! The tribe leader will be taken by the Council of Elders!”

Ray, who had been still, suddenly vomited blood.

“Cough!”

Sweating profusely, he still didn’t remove his hand from the middle-aged man’s abdomen.

Haeri screamed and blocked the elder.

“What are you doing! Get out of here immediately!”

“I can no longer tolerate this recklessness! How dare you touch the mana road, are you in your right mind?”

“I will forcefully remove you!”

She drew her sword, and the elder brandished his in response.

“I cannot just watch! You’ve gone mad!”

As the Aura Blades emerged, the mana in the surroundings was pushed away.

The two clashed swords without hesitation.

Boom!

The sound of their clash was so loud it seemed impossible it was just steel hitting steel, and Ray and the tribe leader, as if in response, vomited blood simultaneously.

Consequently, Haeri and the elder gasped.

“Huh!”

“Ye, tribe leader!”

They hurriedly stopped their sword fight.

Handling mana along the mana road is a delicate task.

Especially when it’s not one’s own but someone else’s tangled mana road, intense concentration is required.

The clash of their auras, brief as it was, had a significant impact on Ray.

Blood streamed down from his eyes.