The Great Cleric

One moment, a certain salaryman is on cloud nine, that promotion finally within his grasp, and the next, he’s keeled over pain, and that was all she wrote. Luckily for him, fate had a bit more to say. A world of magic, monsters, and other such life-shortening entities await his newly reincarnated self for a second shot at life. With nothing but his past-life experiences and sharp business skills to guide him in the foreign lands of Galdardia, he takes up the name Luciel and vows that his (next) demise will be from naught but old age. And what better way to avoid a(nother) gruesome death, than by taking up a nice, cushy job as a healer? But getting by in another world doesn’t come easy, or cheap. It’ll take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to hone the skills he needs to make his way. But make it he will...or die (again) trying!

We’re off to the Holy City! Luciel is moving up in the world and people, both good and bad, powerful and weak, have begun to take notice of this peculiar young man. Bent on becoming the best healer he can be in order to aid the many people who can’t afford treatment from the price-gouging clinics, he accepts his new position with trepidation, heading straight for the source of the infamous guild’s corruption. But something is up with the Church — a labyrinth of monsters lurks beneath the floor of the healers’ headquarters, and a number of players are moving in the shadows as Luciel desperately continues to cling to his hope of mundane normalcy. Will he succeed in finding comfort in his new life abroad? Will his talents lead him to some sense of stability? Or will he find himself getting far more than he bargained for? New faces, new trials, and new offensive nicknames await the Masochist Healer as his journey continues!

Change is coming for the Church of Saint Shurule, and Luciel’s first act as an S-rank healer is one that promises to shake the very foundations of the healing profession. But leave it to the ignorant masochist to find himself once again in way over his head in the process. The shoes that he’s inadvertently stepped into—those of his legendary predecessor—won’t be easy to fill, and the whole “imprisoned dragons” debacle continues to loom over the hapless young man as he struggles to move forward. But as they say, preparation is key. Leadership, an ever-growing harem of old men, and backyard barbeques are just some of the trials that await this unusual protagonist as the next chapter of Saint Weirdo's path to greatness begins.

The journey to Yenice is long, and Luciel has a big task ahead of him. Charged with reviving a long-defunct branch of the Healer’s Guild in a nation of beastfolk, the S-rank healer’s mission was never going to be easy. But things are made even more complicated when it is revealed that the country is home to its own host of problems, and even Luciel’s reputation isn’t enough to keep trouble away. In contrast to his time at the Adventurers Guild, the welcome mat hasn’t exactly been laid out for him, and he’ll have to learn to navigate the murky waters of local affairs or risk falling victim to the schemes that unsavory politicians are concocting from the shadows.

With the dragon “slayed” and corruption in the Church uprooted, Luciel returns to Yenice a hero, but a hero’s work is never done. His revolution is ambitious (too ambitious, some might say), and in the wake of change always comes resistance. As it turns out, dragons just might be the least of his worries when he realizes that the weeds he plucked might have only been a symptom of the City of Freedom’s underlying disease. Politics are a dangerous game and Luciel’s found himself stranded on the board, but is he a player or a pawn? As the Wicked One’s shadow creeps nearer and the empire’s boot marches ever closer, Luciel’s prospects of a peaceful life seem to slip further and further away.

His trials and tribulations in Yenice behind him at last, Luciel makes for his next destination: Rockford, followed by the Kingdom of Dwarves. While the Republic of Saint Shurule creaks under the weight of a new wave of human supremacy, the hapless healer’s hopes for an easy mission are short-lived as the journey develops into something far more complicated than he signed up for...again. Something crawls beneath the earth, threatening to topple a precarious monarchy, and there’s more to the magical streets of the artisan’s haven than meets the eye. Will the Masochist Healer ever catch a break? Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem likely. And the more information that comes to light about his fate, the grimmer Luciel’s future becomes.

Saint Weirdo returns to the Holy City, and surely a few months of peace and calm await the masochist healer back on his own turf. This time, for sure! Yeah, right. Luciel’s homecoming is less a vacation and more a pitstop on his never-ending list of responsibilities as an S-rank healer. The enigma that is Estia and her connection to the mysterious Lihzalea loom in the background, as all the while the Church continues to reel under the changes its newest S-rank brought so suddenly. The captain of the guard can scarcely get a grip in the wake of such greatness, and in her desperation to match the Saint’s accomplishments, she just might do something drastic. Meanwhile, the shadows in the dark are always lurking, but closer than ever before...perhaps beneath their very feet.

There’s no time to lose. Luciel and the gang make for Grandol with all haste, on a heroic quest to save a damsel in distress...not. The hapless healer is in no rush to go sticking his neck out for others, but he’s not one to break a promise to an all-powerful dragon. When they arrive, though, things don’t exactly go as planned, and a detour takes Luciel on yet another rescue mission—this time at an auction. But a bid war is only marginally less lethal than a labyrinth, especially when it’s being run by a shady character who seems to know more than he lets on. And that’s the least of the poor S-rank’s worries. With Brod back around, class is about to be back in session, and it’s looking to be the hardest course in brutality Luciel’s ever taken. Meanwhile, the healer wonders what it is that keeps making him the center of chaos. Is it the mere whimsy of fate? Or he himself? And what happens when it puts the people he cares about in danger?

Luciel arrives at the City in the Sky, hopeful he can retrieve what he’s lost. All is not as it seems, though, as Neldahl holds many secrets in unlikely places. How many of the city’s curious features are merely the proclivities of Lord Reinstar, and how many speak to conspiracy? The S-rank isn’t sure he wants to know, so it’s a good thing he has plenty to occupy him, like hitting the books, practicing magic, and exploring the labyrinthine halls of the Sorcerer’s Guild. The solution to regaining his powers surely lies somewhere within their vast archive of tomes...or so Luciel would like to believe. But trouble has a way of finding the poor healer-on-hiatus, and unfortunately, he’s grown used to it. It’s only a matter of time before it arrives. The question now is whether he’ll be ready to face it when it does.

The world now has its first sage in over a century! Luciel returns at last from his extended stay in the City in the Sky with wondrous powers in hand, and this displeases a very particular faction within the Church of Saint Shurule. Red carpets were never the timid S-rank’s style, but an armed platoon isn’t exactly what he had in mind for his homecoming either. To make matters worse, just about everywhere Luciel turns is yet another plot in the making. Four months can really leave a guy out of the loop.