Law of Space and Time

Chapter 14-1: Healing (1)

After Erwin was carried off the competition platform, he was taken directly to a tent in the eastern contestants' area for emergency treatment. Princess Onean was immediately on the scene, bringing Master Piro along with her, and Lana also arrived shortly thereafter. At the time, there were still a few administrators left in the tent, and they all heaved a collective sigh of relief upon seeing the arrival of Master Piro. After all, Master Piro was far better equipped to treat magical injuries inflicted upon internal organs and nerves. In addition to that, the princess was also present, so the administrators naturally took that as their cue to leave the tent.

However, things weren't so simple. After conducting a meticulous examination, Master Piro discovered that the so-called magic injuries that Erwin had sustained were just magic turbulence carrying different negative status conditions surging randomly throughout his body. Furthermore, that was only the secondary concern. What had truly injured Erwin's internal organs and nerves was the excessive amount of matter elements that had entered his body. It was as if someone had blown these matter elements into his body with all their might, and he had been pumped like a balloon to the brink of bursting. Even though Erwin was able to convert the matter energy into magic energy and unleash it in the form of his spells, a balloon that had been blown up once could never return to its original state.

"It's a good thing that he was able to convert that energy into magic energy when he did. If things had dragged on any longer, then he would've been converted into matter energy himself," Master Piro sighed. If Erwin could hear what Master Piro was saying at this moment, then he most likely would've never attempted what he did, even if it meant losing the match.

"How is he right now, Teacher?" Onean asked with a concerned expression.

Lana was naturally aware of Master Piro's identity, so it didn't seem fitting for her to barge in to inspect Erwin's injuries. Furthermore, she wasn't very familiar with Onean and Master Piro. In fact, there was a rivalry between the two women, so she was quite reluctant to approach them.

"Hmph, it's a good thing that I came back to the capital with you. Otherwise, he'll struggle to recover even if he's bedridden for a year!" Master Piro rolled his eyes with a disgruntled expression at Erwin, who was still unconscious, then turned to give Princess Onean a meaningful look.

Onean quickly realized what he wanted, and she pulled out an intricate pendant, within which was a small vial of golden liquid. If one weren't looking closely, one could easily mistake the vial of golden liquid to be a golden gemstone pendant.

Master Piro accepted the pendant from the princess, but a pained look appeared on his face as he unscrewed the cap of the vial. 

"You don't seem bothered at all by this! This is a magic potion brewed from the marrow of Springlay Foxes, and it took me a few years just to brew this tiny amount! I gave it to you so that you can use it in your time of need, but you pulled it out without even thinking about it!" Master Piro complained.

Springlay foxes? Those are extremely rare magic creatures, Lana thought to herself. 

She had only seen Springlay foxes on several occasions in the Terarodry Mountain Ranges. These rare foxes with white bodies and black tails would only come out at the start of spring to search for mating partners, so they only showed themselves once per year. Furthermore, they were extremely sensitive, and if they were to detect any trace of disturbance nearby, these foxes would immediately flee back into the mountains, never to be found again. These magic foxes were capable of shapeshifting into all types of living beings, so even the most exceptional hunters wouldn't be able to track them down.

Lana knew that the bone marrow of Springlay Foxes was a premium ingredient for magic potions. However, she didn't know exactly how to brew potions from the ingredient. It was undoubtedly the case that this type of magic potion was extremely rare, so if she wanted to know more about it, her teacher, Mistress Faye, was most likely the only one she could turn to for information.

"Don't be so stingy, Teacher. Our top priority right now is to save him," Princess Onean said in an urgent voice.

Master Piro cast his gaze toward the precious golden liquid as he heaved a forlorn sigh, then gritted his teeth as he tipped the vial onto its side. In the instant that the liquid inside began to flow out of the vial, Master Piro spread open his other hand to unleash a spell while chanting a complex ancient incantation.

Even for exceptional magic prodigies like Onean and Lana, Master Piro's incantation was completely incomprehensible. Both of them looked on with wide eyes as the golden liquid split up into several thin threads during its descent, and these thin threads split up even further to form a net before spreading over Erwin's chest like a cobweb. A series of golden cobweb-like structures began to spread all over Erwin's body before seeping in through his skin. Shortly thereafter, Erwin moaned in a faint voice in his unconscious state, but his brows were still tightly furrowed, and he displayed no sign of waking up.

Master Piro took a look at the two anxious women, then turned his gaze back to the unconscious Erwin, and he couldn't help but shake his head with an amused expression.

"You're Lana from the Lazaar Family, right? You seem to be really into this brat," Master Piro jibed with an amused smile.

"You can say whatever you want, Master Piro, but Her Highness and I both rushed onto the competition platform to save him. All of the spectators in the venue saw it, so there's no point in denying it. Now, she's even using this magic potion brewed from the bone marrow of Sprinlay Foxes on him. If you ask me, Her Highness seems to be far more into him than I am," Lana countered in an articulate manner.

A slight blush appeared on Onean's face upon hearing this.

"Like master, like student. Faye always has to make sure that she gets the last laugh in arguments, and it looks like you're exactly the same," Master Piro said with an amused smile, unbothered by her slightly confrontational attitude. Lana's teacher, Mistress Faye, was almost 20 years Master Piro's junior, so she was technically half a student to Master Piro. As such, Master Piro was naturally referring to her in the way that a senior would talk about their junior.

"Don't try to lord your seniority over me, Master Piro. I'm just speaking the truth! Erwin is my friend, so it's only to be expected that I would save him in his time of need. However, it seems like Her Highness only met Erwin for the first time earlier today. May I ask why you felt the need to save him as well?" Lana asked as she turned to Onean with a smile.

"Oh? You say that you're his friend? Why is it that I heard that you almost killed him not too long ago? First, you try to kill him, now you try to save him? Is this a hobby of yours?" Princess Onean countered with a smug smile of her own. "As for why I saved him, it's because I see a lot of potential in him. As the princess of this kingdom, it would be remiss of me to stand by and watch a young magician with so much potential be crippled under such unfortunate circumstances."

Just as the two women were facing off against one another, Count Friar and Professor Hawk arrived. Neither of them had come to the venue to watch the matches, but they were immediately called over to the venue by the tournament committee as soon as Erwin's match concluded.

"Oh, I was wondering who Erwin's teacher was. Turns out it's you, Little Hawk!" Master Piro said with a smile as he glanced at Professor Hawk, who had just entered the tent, then cast a meaningful gaze toward Count Friar.

Count Friar was unfazed by Master Piro's scrutiny and made his way directly over to Erwin to examine his injuries.

"Why are you here, Teacher?" Professor Hawk was quite surprised to see his teacher here.

"You think I want to be here? This stupid little disciple of mine forced me to come here to save your useless student!" Master Piro replied with a wry smile.

Princess Onean was quite embarrassed by her teacher's jibes, and she turned away with a faint blush on her face, pretending not to have heard anything.

Professor Hawk had naturally already spotted Lana in the tent, and he was very surprised to see so many prestigious figures gathered here. After hearing what Master Piro had to say, he was more than a little pleased.

Does this mean Her Highness has taken a liking to Erwin? What a lucky little brat he is! 

"Teacher, how is my student doing?" Professor Hawk hurriedly asked with a worried expression, but he wasn't overly concerned considering Master Piro was present.

"Your student is an idiot! He almost killed himself just to win that match!" Master Piro replied as a scathing look appeared on his face. "If Onean hadn't been generous enough to use the magic potion brewed from the bone marrow of Springlay foxes on him, he would've been bedridden for at least three years!"

Count Friar was carefully examining Erwin's injuries, and he could sense that Erwin's severely ravaged organs were recovering at an incredible speed. In contrast, his external injuries were of far less concern. After hearing what Master Piro had to say, he was quite taken aback by how far the princess was willing to go to save Erwin's life. After all, the bone marrow of Sprinlay Foxes was extremely rare even in the royal palace, and even with the ingredient, only a master in magic potions would've been able to brew such a potion.

"I apologize on behalf of my son for causing all of you so much inconvenience. Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness, and thank you for saving my son, Master Piro." Count Friar extended a deep bow toward Princess Onean and Master Piro with a grateful expression. For someone like him, who normally displayed very little emotion, this was already a heartfelt gesture of gratitude.

Professor Hawk also hung his head in shame and accepted partial responsibility for failing to teach Erwin well.

"There's no need to thank us, Count Friar. No matter how precious the magic potion was, it can't compare with the value of a human life, so the fact that it was able to save Erwin means that it was put to good use," Princess Onean said with a smile. "Don't mind my teacher. He may be a little harsh with his words at times, but I'm sure he also wanted to save such a young and talented magician, isn't that right, Teacher?"

"Hmph, if you're worried about that little brat, then just say it like it is! Don't drag me into this," Master Piro grumbled with a disgruntled expression. Throughout his lifetime, he had taken countless disciples under his wing, but never had he had a disciple like Onean, who was able to completely wrap him around her finger. If she wanted something, then he simply couldn't bring himself to refuse!

As everyone was talking with one another, Lana made her way into the inner room to examine Erwin's injuries, and she couldn't help but be stunned by just how severe those injuries were. Even though his internal organs and nerves were already mostly recovered at this point, she was still able to extrapolate just how terrifying the injuries would've been when he first sustained them.

"What kind of magic is he practicing? He almost died last time as well..." Lana murmured to herself. This was something that she had always been curious about Erwin.

Everyone in the outer room naturally heard her errant mumbling as well, and this was also a point of intrigue for Princess Onean. Just like Lana, she was also very curious about the magic that Erwin had displayed during his match.

Professor Hawk's calm expression remained unchanged, while Count Friar pretended not to have heard what had just been said at all. Master Piro took a glance at their expressions, and he developed a rough idea of the circumstances involved.

Seeing as Erwin was already in a stable condition, Count Friar extended another apology to Princess Onean and Master Piro before excusing himself and returning to the manor. As for Professor Hawk, he hadn't seen Master Piro for many years, and the two of them made their way outside the tent as they began chatting about the past.

Thus, Princess Onean and Lana were the only two left in the tent.