Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior – Chapter 14

“Zion. Since it’s the first day, there will be a lot of explanations. Just follow along well.”

“Got it! It’s time for serious training!”

With both hands clenched into fists and striking a fighting pose, Zion seemed determined.

Could it be that he felt better knowing the rehabilitation was finally starting?

“From now on, I’ll cast a buff, so don’t be too surprised and just sit still for a moment.”

“A buff? For me?”

“That’s right. It will be for you, Zion.”

Even though it was clearly stated, Zion tilted his head, seeming not to fully understand.

“There’s no way a buff would be effective on me…”

A buff is magic that enhances the abilities of its target.

The effectiveness of the buff depends not only on the caster’s proficiency but also heavily on the stats of the person receiving it.

While buffs temporarily raise stats, unless it’s an extraordinary buff, they won’t make a dramatic change to the target’s abilities.

Most mainstream buffs only raise a target’s stats by a certain percentage.

Therefore, as Zion stated, most buffs won’t be effective on him since he’s in a state where his strength has nearly vanished.

“I can’t emphasize this enough—just receive the buff and stay still.”

“I understand, for now.”

Having given enough warnings, I reached out to Zion to cast the buff.

“Power.”

“Huh? That spell is…”

It was the most basic strength buff, not one for muscle enhancement or strength per se. This spell is very low-efficiency for someone with at least minimal combat capabilities,

“Wait, huh?”

But it shows miraculous effectiveness on a patient who can barely move.

As Zion felt strength entering his body, he began to move his arms around while his eyes widened in astonishment.

“With this much, I might be able to get up! How about it?”

“Stay still. Don’t get up and don’t lift your arms.”

“Oh, right.”

Zion folded his hands and refocused on the changes in his body.

“I adjusted the level of the buff, but since your stats are so low, let’s wait until your body adapts.”

“That makes sense. But this is… a fixed stat buff, right?”

“Exactly.”

A buff with high efficiency solely for those with low stats. That’s why adventurers don’t learn or improve in such skills.

In my case,

“What’s with these numbers? Is this supposed to be normal?”

I had mastered even this lower-tier buff. Focusing entirely on the strength stat since the other stats weren’t needed for rehabilitation training.

Since I’m not an adventurer, I don’t have a high level and cannot learn many skills.

“A fixed stat buff like this can make someone like Zion move.”

Moreover, the skill points I earned while working professionally were invested only in things deemed helpful for training and treatment.

“It’s almost like a miracle. If the buff works this well…”

Despite warning Zion multiple times not to move, he couldn’t hide his excitement, squirming and fidgeting as his body tingled with newfound strength.

“If I have a buff like this, I can exercise like a regular person! I’ll rebuild my strength and rehabilitate quickly…”

“That’s not the case.”

And that excitement and eagerness were precisely what patients undergoing rehabilitation needed to be cautious about.

“Huh? Why not…?”

“Zion, remember when you asked why our exercise time was so short?”

“I do.”

“Right now, without this buff, training is impossible for you. And what you need to be most careful about right now is getting addicted to buffs.”

“Addicted to… buffs?”

Buff addiction. For those living in this world, this combination of words might sound strange.

A buff isn’t poison or something harmful, so how could it be addictive?

“Making someone who cannot move at all exercise through the effects of a buff is a last resort. There’s no other method, that’s why we’re doing this. The effects this buff has on patients are so good that it becomes dangerously effective.”

“The better the effect, the more dangerous it sounds… I’m getting more confused…”

“Zion. You’ve experienced it already. You know what happens to your body when you use the power of buffs.”

“……!”

Finally, Zion’s eyes widened as he seemed to grasp something serious.

“When a patient who normally can’t move gets used to being able to move thanks to a buff, their body starts to deteriorate. They feel immense depression when the buff is absent. They become increasingly reliant on it, unable to accept the rapid changes in their body, and they can mentally break down. In extreme cases, there are those who threaten or blackmail me for buffs.”

“How… could someone who can’t move threaten you?”

“By holding a knife to their own throat.”

“Oh…”

Excessive buffs are like drugs to patients. In reality, depending on how they’re used, substances in modern times can be either medicinal or narcotic.

You must use everything with precise knowledge and correctly. The cases of buff abuse come at a steep price. Truly something I don’t want to experience again.

No matter how much I like messed-up things, I prefer not to destroy anything with my own hands. I am… a fixer.

“Therefore, we’ll slowly build strength over time. If you try to rush things and push yourself too hard, you will definitely fall. You understand what I’m saying, right?”

Even the Third Princess, Now, faced with the struggles of rehabilitation, mentioned it was a hard journey yet saw the light of hope.

I thought it was a keen insight befitting a top-tier mage.

Rehabilitation is tough and grueling, but that difficulty comes with its rewards. Zion, who was part of the hero party, would understand what that means.

“I get it completely. I can’t repeat the same mistakes.”

“Good. Now that I think your body has somewhat adapted, let me tell you what you need to be careful of when moving.”

Even with extreme caution, it’s never too much for treatment through buffs.

I knew Zion would be itching to move his body, but such urges were the most dangerous feeling to have, which is why thorough education and treatment were essential.

“Your strength is enhanced through the buff, but that enhanced strength must be used minimally. Think about what speed you could normally move your body at and move just a tiny bit faster than that. When you move your body, you need to feel where the muscles are and how much strength is being applied to them. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Good. Now grab the bars on either side.”

Zion boldly responded and, following my instructions, took a deep breath before slowly raising his arms to grasp the bars.

“Well done. Now you’ll stand while holding those, equally slow.”

“Understood.”

With that, Zion gripped the bars firmly and, using strength in his arms and legs, began to rise slowly from his seat.

Mirae, who was watching from the side, smoothly pulled the wheelchair back, and Zion managed to stand straight while holding the bars.

“I’m standing… is this rehabilitation?”

“Not quite, Zion. Right now, it shouldn’t be hard at all, should it?”

“Nope, not at all. It’s really amazing, Hop!”

Even after repeatedly stating that if it’s not hard, it’s not rehabilitation and relying on the buff is dangerous, patients always displayed such reactions.

Upon reflection, that’s understandable, and it’s inevitable. After all, the body is moving. Experiencing a miracle surely brings joy.

But you see, the fun part is just about to start…

“From now on, I’m going to gradually lower the buff level. Zion, let me know if you feel like you can’t stand anymore.”

“Huh, why?!”

“Power… Power… Power… Power…”

A single buff cannot be stacked on the same person twice. Using this principle, I gradually applied a lower buff to Zion. Adjusting the buff’s intensity just slightly.

He must be feeling a gradual reduction in strength.

“Hop! I can’t take it anymore…!”

“Can’t you stand?”

“Yeah, no! I feel like I’m about to fall over any second!”

Zion’s arms trembled while holding onto the bars. Looking at his fist, it seemed like he was still applying some strength.

Normally, this level would be logged as a suitable buff level for most patients, but for Zion, the disparity is too great. It’s dangerous…

“But you’re still standing.”

“Huh?”

“Power.”

“Ah, aaah!!!”

As I lowered the buff further, Zion gritted his teeth and held on.

Really, it seems like it’s getting increasingly difficult to stand; his entire body trembled, and he couldn’t keep his eyes open, letting out groans of discomfort.

“Uhhh!!!”

“Seriously, give it your all. This is it…”

The Hero Zion Laurel, who fought and defeated the Demon King, was there trembling while clinging to the parallel bars with a face full of struggle…

Although I wanted to watch a bit longer, it was also risky to allow this state to persist, so I needed to end it quickly.

“Mirae, support his armpits.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Following the direction, the nursemaid Mirae supported Zion so he wouldn’t collapse.

As she held him up, it seemed Zion had depleted all his strength, letting go of the bars and leaning onto Mirae’s hands.

“Zion, put him back in the wheelchair and chart the buff effectiveness at 5.2.”

“Understood.”

Mirae gently moved Zion back into the wheelchair and recorded the chart, and as Zion felt his body relax, he desperately opened his eyes and began gasping for breath.

“Huh, huhhhhh…!!”

“Is it really necessary to use a 5.2 just to make him stand… It looks like walking training won’t be possible for a while.”

Zion’s condition was far more serious than expected. I must reiterate, extreme care must be taken not to stack too many buffs while training.

“Not possible…? Then how about rehabilitation…”

“Don’t worry, Zion. There are plenty of training methods. You can exercise even if you can’t stand at all.”

Modern medicine has established various exercises to build strength in specific areas for Zion’s needs.

“What should I try first~”

Zion’s rehabilitation will take time. I can let him engage in rehabilitation slowly over a long period. That’s how rehabilitation should be approached.

And that means there are a lot of enjoyable moments left for us to share together.