Falling: How to Survive as a Cannon Fodder

HTSCF CH 054 Running into the protagonist and the villain

"... You're a Mage."

Being a Mage was a very respectable (and profitable) profession in this world. After all, they were the only people capable of transforming a mana stone into a Protection Stone, amongst other things.

"Yeah, I can teach you if you want."

When Jun checked Ophelia's body earlier, he ascertained she could learn magic. Having changed her impression of Jun, Ophelia grinned. Maybe he wasn't a pervert but a lonely Mage searching for an apprentice.

"Yes, please!"

Once they left town, Jun decided their destination would be a nearby forest. With his skills, he could live off the land, so earning money was just a means of trading information. After selecting an area with a nearby water source, Jun transformed the surrounding trees into a small wooden house.

Ophelia stood by and watched with wide eyes, then rubbed them and ran into the house to peek around. Many Mages passed through the town they left, but she had never seen anyone accomplish what Jun did. Was he one of those old hermits or sages? But he didn't appear that old, maybe in his late 20s at most.

Inside, Jun sat down at the table and called Ophelia over.

"What is it?" She stood in front of him with her head tilted.

"I want to try something." Ophelia backed up with caution. Was he a pervert after all? Jun ignored her reaction and continued. "Where's your burn scar?"

Ophelia clutched the side of her face, wary. Why was he asking about that? Was he concerned with what the townspeople spoke of after all?

Trembling, she asserted, "It's—I'm... Not a Dark Omen..."

Jun laughed and removed his blindfold. His eyes were closed, but that part of his face was nearly no different from when he wore the blindfold.

"You, you..."

"I'm a Dark Omen," Jun admitted. "But I'm also a Mage and a Healer, so there's something I want to try."

"A-A Healer? Impossible. How can a Mage also be a Healer?"

"It's all magic."

To Jun, it was all magic, but this world divided several types of magic into different professions. As far as he could tell, Healers could only use light magic, while Mages could use all other kinds of magic, but they were limited to one type. As for Shields, he had a vague suspicion that it was also magic, but had yet to determine which kind.

While still skeptical, Ophelia was awed into curiosity. "... Then what do you want to try?"

"I want to see if I can heal your burn scar." Jun had tried healing himself but failed. He assumed the world wanted him to suffer, but that didn't exclude the possibility of being able to help other "Dark Omens."

Most Healers in this world used light magic, which could deal with basic internal or external injuries, but when light magic was combined with another type, different types of healing could be achieved. For example, the black scar was a burn scar, so if he were to combine light and water, or perhaps light, water, and earth, it might just work.

"Will you let me try?"

"Yes!" Ophelia nodded with enthusiasm. Of course, she wanted to be rid of the one thing that made others not see her as a person. The worst that could happen was Jun failing.

Jun reached out with a hand. "Where's your scar?" He asked again. Ophelia grabbed his hand in hers and led it to the side of her face. Jun "saw" the scar and began working right away, removing the impurities. The correct combination of magic turned out to be light, water, and earth.