Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior – Chapter 96

“The marking’s gone. What happened?”

After finishing another typical day, the Elf King, Keineu, lay down to rest.

He suddenly opened his eyes wide, sensing that something had gone wrong with the marking he had set.

Every object with mass distorts the space it occupies due to that mass.

Keineu’s ‘marking’ was a magic that left traces in spatial disturbances, allowing him to track the target’s location.

But now, Keineu felt that the traces he had left in the spatial realm were disappearing in an instant and that his connection to them was severed.

Someone had interfered with the space where the marked person resided.

“It’s that kid. What’s going on? What scenarios could cause something like this?”

Initially relieved that Hanamana wasn’t involved in this anomaly, Keineu’s thoughts quickly turned to Hop.

The situation where the traces of his marking had entirely vanished was troubling.

While it was likely that Hop had discovered and erased the marking himself, he shouldn’t have been able to find it with just the basic knowledge of spatial magic he had taught him.

So, the next possibility that came to mind was that Hop had gotten caught up in a broad-range spatial magic.

A powerful spatial magic capable of affecting even the slightest traces etched deep in the distortions.

If it operated in a way that erased distortions and traces, it could very well be an attempt to seal Hop, who was both the owner of the marking and a spatial magic user.

What could happen to Hop, who had no options outside of space if faced with a hostile superior aptitude holder in spatial magic?

But…

“If it’s that guy, he’s got a hero with him. Maybe there’s less to worry about…”

Thinking he might be overreacting, Keineu continued to ponder, but he leaned more toward the idea that he should go check on things.

First, timing was an issue.

It was late, so the chances of the two being together were slim.

Sure, they could be together as lovers, but if something were to happen during such a moment and they were attacked…

“I’m not going just to see that. I care only for Hanamana.”

Shaking his head, he kept thinking.

And the second concern was the opponent’s level.

If the opponent could manipulate space at that level, Keineu couldn’t guarantee whether he could gain the upper hand, even as the elf king.

Even if the hero could interfere with space, it might still be difficult to respond.

In the end, Keineu concluded that going to where Hop was located was the right decision.

At the very least, he needed to understand the exact reason the marking was erased.

There could be a third scenario for the cause of the marking’s disappearance.

Naturally, that would be if the owner of the marking died.

“…….”

Keineu hurriedly dressed and headed to the guest room where the Space Movement Array and Rune Stone were located.

‘I hope I’m not too late…’

Even for Keineu, the Noden Kingdom, where Hop was, was a considerably far distance, so he couldn’t just create the Space Movement Array and move immediately.

It would take some time to reach the coordinates where the marking had vanished and where Hop was located.

Feeling an ominous premonition in this bizarre and unusual situation, he rushed toward the magic circle.

***

“This is the spellbook for Recover… so it does exist.”

During the weekend, Hanamana set out to search for spellbooks.

This expedition yielded an unexpected treasure.

The long-sought ‘Recover’ spellbook, which only Hop and Mirae could use.

After searching late into the night, she finally found it just in time that day.

Excited by the unexpected gain, Hanamana felt eager to open the Recover spellbook and see its contents.

Even though it was late, she thought there was no reason to worry since tomorrow was Sunday.

With light steps, she returned to her inn, locked her door, and said, “I wonder what kind of magic it is~.”

Filled with excitement, she opened the spellbook.

After learning this, she could surely step up as a rehabilitation expert, she thought joyfully.

But the expression on Hanamana’s face as she sat at her desk and opened the spellbook began to harden the more she checked its contents.

The magic, Recover, was a spell that restored a very small amount of lost abilities.

The true identity of that magic was none other than…

“This… I can’t learn this, can I? This spell is definitely time magic. Recover… is it really time magic?”

Hanamana recalled the scene where Hop had cast Recover.

Was that blue light she saw back then really the color of time magic?

Certainly, Recover was a bizarre type of magic.

It restored only the lost attributes of the target in a limited way, neither boosting stats nor healing as a conventional spell would…

Thinking of it as time magic clarified many of the questions Hanamana had.

Recover was a spell that specified a very small space involving just one person and a very limited scope of attributes, reversing time just a smidge.

Even the tiniest spell, if continuously used on a specific target, would cause distortions in time for that target. Thus, there’s an individual cooldown for the recipient rather than the caster.

This explained why the magic could be triggered at no cost.

The cost of time magic is memories. However, because this spell has such a small operational range and effect, even the memory cost would be miniscule.

But erasing such a small part from memories is impossible because they are all interconnected.

No matter how a memory related to another is erased, it would soon resurface through associated memories, and the caster would not even realize that the memory was erased and restored.

Hanamana couldn’t hide her surprise that such a magic existed.

Understanding the true nature of this spell led her to a deeper question.

Why on earth does such a magic exist?

Since Recover is time magic, the person who devised the spell must also be an aptitude holder of time magic.

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place for Hanamana.

While classified as ‘time magic’, the use of this spell is clearly more akin to ‘rehabilitation magic’ than curing magic.

And in this world where Hanamana lives, there was only one person capable of creating rehabilitation magic.

Hop Harvey. This spell was created by Hop, her senior.

He is the one using Recover. Therefore, he must surely be an aptitude holder of time magic.

Then why did he create such a magic?

Did he want to use time magic for rehabilitation without losing his memories?

If that was the case, the severely limited power and cooldown wouldn’t make sense.

Of course, while Recover would certainly help with rehabilitation if used consistently, the primary means of rehabilitation isn’t the time magic of Recover but rather consistent exercise and care.

In fact, the only rehabilitation center utilizing Recover for rehabilitation is the one in the Noden Kingdom where Hop and Mirae are, while other centers face no issues rehabilitating their patients without Recover.

The principle of rehabilitation lies in causing minuscule damage and then recovering it repeatedly to stimulate the body’s natural healing ability and gradually regain health.

That’s what rehabilitation is… right?

“Wait a minute, Hanamana. Think this through. If you stimulate something to recover by repeatedly inflicting tiny damage, does that mean the lost functions will be revived?”

At that moment, a brilliant inspiration flashed through Hanamana’s mind.

The intense excitement, which could only be provided by the realization gained from profound reasoning, struck her head.

“I see! That’s it!”

Finally grasping the true identity of Recover, Hanamana realized that the true nature of this magic was…

“The hidden purpose of Recover is its cost rather than its effect. By consistently using extremely limited time magic, it injects repetitive stimuli into one’s own memories. Since the basic principle of rehabilitation applies to memories, this magic exists! This magic is undoubtedly rehabilitation magic. A time aptitude holder who lost nearly all his memories devised this to regain his memories…”

“The rehabilitation magic of memories. That is the true identity of Recover.”

Having uncovered the identity of Recover, Hanamana was instantly led to the truth that lay beyond it.

Then, what about Hop Harvey, the one who created and uses this spell? A reincarnator?

Hanamana didn’t know what kind of immense time magic could cause one to lose nearly all memories, but if it existed, it would surely be reincarnation. She couldn’t imagine anything larger than that.

Moreover, he had clearly forgotten that he was an aptitude holder of time magic and that he was the one who created Recover.

Though she didn’t know what objectives Hop was pursuing with his reincarnation, he still hadn’t regained his memories.

So should she hurry to let him know this? Should Hanamana help him regain his memories?

“Wait, but the only person consistently using Recover isn’t just my senior Hop. There’s also Mirae Aurora. She can use Recover too. Does that mean she is a reincarnator as well? Since they both use Recover… does that mean it’s to recover their memories?”

A chill of dread washed over Hanamana.

Though she had pieced together nearly all the answers regarding the current situation, she still had no clue about what action to take.

The most important thing lay in the realm unknown to deduction.

That was the purpose of both individuals.

Without them regaining their memories, it was something she could never discern.

But Hanamana closed her eyes and continued to think.

Even when faced with a problem beyond her understanding, she could not sit idly by in this situation.

***

“The holy sword is gone.”

Before bed, Serin, who was tidying up her room, faced a different anomaly.

It was the disappearance of Zion’s holy sword.

Currently, Zion was in top form. The holy sword had also regained its light, so nobody should have touched it.

If so, the holy sword must have been summoned by Zion.

But why? Was there a battle? Did something sudden occur in the hot spring?

If he had summoned it for a fight, she figured that the holy sword would return after the battle, so Serin decided to wait for it to come back.

But no matter how long she waited, the holy sword did not return.

Why? Was there a need to keep holding the sword?

Serin felt a wave of ominous premonition wash over her.

Zion had said he would go sightseeing, not on an expedition. And he was going with Hop.

Given the situation that Zion had taken the holy sword to the hot spring, it was strange.

Recalling that Zion had been cooped up in his room doing nothing all week just now, she also remembered that he had not directly relayed the invitation to go to the hot spring, passing the message through her instead.

He must have wanted to avoid meeting Hop.

But why? Did their relationship suddenly take a turn for the worse?

Given that Serin had seen the two up close more than anyone else, she doubted that would happen, but even so, she couldn’t shake off her anxious feelings.

Currently acting as Zion’s aide, Serin was originally an Imperial Special Agent.

She judged the situation not by emotions but by phenomena.

In a state where Zion was not engaged in battle, the fact that the holy sword had not returned for this long could mean only one thing.

That Zion, its owner, was leaving this place.

Though it was an absurd possibility…

“Maybe the teacher will come back.”

With a troubled heart, Serin headed toward the Magic Tower.

Hoping that her worries would prove to be unfounded.