HideousGrain
patreon
Apocalypse Healer - B3 Chapter 6.2
🕑 Added 2025-05-04 10:00:04 +0000 UTCThe only issue? David had no idea how other Skill Runes looked or what he was supposed to do here. In the first place, was a Spark supposed to look like a Skill Rune? It would appear odd if a Spark looked like a Skill Rune. If that had been the case, it would be called a Spark Rune—or something goofily like that.
Is the combination of Origin Essence and Blood the right call? Maybe if I could have copied [Blood Patch], but since that doesn’t seem possible… how about this?
David ignored the beads of sweat pouring down his temples as he replaced Blood with Aether. He fused Origin Essence into the natural Aether accumulated within the Energy Pathways. Though it didn’t feel perfect for his purposes, it felt more promising than before.
He kept his eyes shut and focused on the sensation he’d felt whenever he used [Blood Patch]: the ability to use specific Runes on marked targets to heal them. He remembered snippets of memories showing the targets’ life signals, the way the mark had been etched into them, establishing a link that allowed him to heal and augment them. Once established, the link allowed him to sense the targets’ well-being with shocking clarity. It was comparable to a highly detailed medical examination that let him address the target’s specific issues immediately.
The more he thought about the sensation [Blood Patch] had provided—and how it had affected both him and the target—the less aware David became of his surroundings. The sounds around him were muffled at first, but it took mere moments before his slowly beating heart drummed louder than everything else, swallowing the surrounding noises whole.
David fell deep in thought, forgetting everything except for the sensation of [Blood Patch]. He focused entirely on it in an attempt to replicate it once more—or, if that would no longer work, to create something akin to the Skill Rune he had lost.
And something inside him changed. He felt something—a shift of the unknown forming in his mind. Were those memories resurfacing? But how could that be? [Sacrifice] had ripped them out of him when it devoured the Skill Runes.
David squeezed his eyes shut, digesting the memories that surfaced. He fused them with the sensation he’d focused on earlier, only to find that the memories were different. They resembled instances he’d experienced in the past, but they weren’t exactly the same.
They were replications of his memories, altered to replace [Blood Patch] with something else.
As the memories formed in his mind, David caught something in his Mind Space. It was faint and inconspicuous, but it was there—a minuscule flicker. A tiny spark.
That’s it! he shouted inwardly, excitement crushing his concentration.
A groan escaped his lips and he faltered. Recovery was difficult at this point, urging David to summon other means as a pillar of support. Words of Power rolled from his lips, and a droplet of Blood joined the mixture of natural Aether and Origin Essence to recover from failing.
Yet, recovery never happened. The tiny spark’s faint glow dimmed again, and it disappeared from his Mind Space, taking the altered memories with it.
“Fuck!” he snapped, his eyes fluttering open. Several pairs of eyes lingered on David, but one pointed look was all it took for them to mind their own business.
Why did I fail? David asked rhetorically. The answer was obvious. His excitement and loss of focus had been to blame.
But while he had failed, the experiment was a success. The spark—albeit small and inconspicuous—had formed, and the system had something to say about his attempt.
[You have detected a Spark.
However, due to low comprehension, Spark couldn’t be formed.]
While not a Half-Spark, David’s anger dissipated instantaneously. He was on the right track!
How could I reignite more memories to intensify the sensation?
There had to be some sort of uniform logic behind the creation of Sparks. Increasing his understanding and comprehension of the Spark he had in mind seemed obvious—but how was he supposed to do that? The memories that had surfaced had been different from the snippets he recalled. They felt different, but not wrong. If anything, David was certain the altered memories were right—better—than what he recalled [Blood Patch] to be.
Words of Power and Blood won’t help me here. Concentration failed me, but I could have recovered if not for using Blood and Words of Power to accelerate it. The Spark’s creation failed instantly once Blood joined the fray.
That was more of a theory than a proven fact, but David decided not to use any Blood or Words of Power when creating the Spark. Their aspects or properties seemed to conflict, though it was difficult to tell why and how.
The type of Spark may determine which energy it needs to be formed. Or all Sparks require energy that hasn’t been altered. Maybe Mages couldn’t use Mana to form Sparks either.
It didn’t really matter. What mattered was his comprehension and understanding. He could try to study his memories again—but while that felt right, it didn’t feel perfect. And although it would probably be enough to form a Spark if done extensively, it was definitely not the most efficient approach.
Thus, when David spotted a few life signals in the distance outside the miniature fortress, he came to a decision.
He hopped to his feet and left the fortress temporarily, his steps carrying him through the wide open clearing and back to the densely grown prehistoric forest. David didn’t rush, his Bloodthrone Dominion focused on the flickering life signals ahead. Some dimmed and faded into oblivion, reaped by death, but others burned fiercely.
It took only a moment—memories of how he had used [Blood Patch] to tend to his allies across dozens of meters resurfacing in his mind—before he reached the brawl between a pack of Utahraptors and a Stegosaur. The Stegosaur didn’t look good. Its sides were ripped wide open, and crimson flowed from its neck. However, the prehistoric monster was still fighting. It attacked the Utahraptors, its tail crashing heavily into their sides.
Sickening crunches resounded, and one of the Utahraptors was hurled through the air, landing right before David. However, he paid little attention to the writhing creature as it bled internally to death before his eyes. He glanced at the fighting monsters that finally noticed him.
His appearance interrupted their intense brawl, but only for a moment. The Utahraptors locked eyes with him briefly. However, to their misfortune, a moment was all the Stegosaur needed to strike. Earthen spikes burst from the ground around them, encircling the Utahraptors just before piercing their legs and abdomens.
“A tie,” David muttered, watching the Utahraptors die, his gaze flickering to the Stegosaur, which collapsed a moment later.
He stepped closer but was forced to sidestep as the earth beneath him trembled. A pointed pillar burst from underneath, and it would have impaled him had he not moved in time.
“Stupid idea,” he muttered, locking eyes with the Stegosaur. Its black, button-like eyes looked eerily frail and saddening, but David cast all emotions aside as he focused on the task ahead.
“I wanted to heal you right away. Fix you up before starting my experiment. But now…” David shook his head. “Well, now I will… do the same. However, attack me once more and I will be your worst nightmare.”
He released a [Healing Sphere], which ought to preserve the Stegosaur’s life, and focused on the monster’s wounds next, once it was clear the Stegosaur was not about to attack him again.
David concentrated on the earlier sensation—the feeling that had bloomed deep within him—and expanded on it. He eyed the Stegosaur and its wounds and tried to establish a connection. Replicating the way [Blood Patch] had marked its targets was intriguing, but it felt lackluster the more he thought about it. Couldn’t he create something else? Something that resembled [Blood Patch]’s mark—just better?
Time passed slowly, and before David realized it, he stood before the Stegosaur, his hand resting on its body. The Stegosaur eyed him oddly, but there was no fear. It was not afraid of him. Quite the contrary—it was interested and grateful.
But how could David tell that without looking into its eyes? He did not look at the prehistoric monster once, yet he was certain the Stegosaur was doing much better than before.
He could feel its emotions, its well-being, and… the energy coursing through its massive body.
His eyes closed, David could still see it vividly. He stepped back, his eyes still shut, yet nothing changed. He could still perceive it all.
Everything.
Just like the star-like shimmer that had formed—accompanied by old, yet altered, memories.
[You used fragmented memories and your extensive experience to deepen your understanding of your powers and capabilities.
A new Spark has formed.]
[Healing Link – Tier-1 X]
“Hell yeah!” he shouted, startling the Stegosaur.
That, in return, sent ripples of surprise through the link connecting them temporarily, taking David off guard.
He smirked and cast [Greater Restoration] through the connection, flooding the prehistoric monster with life—just like he did with [Blood Patch]. However, it was better. More efficient. Less energy-consuming. More informative. And it didn’t strain him. Not in the slightest.
He made it. David had created his first Spark. And he didn’t even have to ask anyone!
The System seemed to acknowledge his feat as well. It considered it as special as he did.
[You achieved greatness by creating your first Spark without aid and with lackluster understanding and knowledge of the topic.
+2 Mind, +Enlightened[3D:23H:59M:59S]]
A smile played on his lips as he read through the message twice. While it was true he didn’t understand much about Sparks or the way they worked, David was more than willing to learn. Especially if all Sparks were like [Healing Link], which was vastly superior to [Blood Patch] at the same Rank.
But before he could create more Sparks, David had to do something else.He had to learn more about Sparks.
What would be better for that than spending the following days deepening his understanding of [Healing Link]?
