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Apocalypse Healer - B1 Chapter 40
🕑 Added 2024-11-12 11:00:07 +0000 UTCThin tendrils of holy power oozed from the Skill Slates, drifting toward David. He watched closely as the dimly glowing tendrils coated his hands. The foreign holy power entered David’s body slowly, spreading everywhere. It reached the energy pathways, which squirmed as the energy circulated through them several times before settling near the Holy Sea.
He could feel some tendrils seeking out his Skill Runes, merging with and nourishing them. Simultaneously, other tendrils created something new. Closing his eyes to follow the process, he saw little unfold. The tendrils intertwined and compressed, engraving new Skill Runes beside the existing ones.
The process was slow, with multiple things happening simultaneously, but it all felt right to David. The Skill Runes’ form stabilized, while the loose tendrils merged with the most compatible Skill Rune.
The minutes dragged on until, finally, the stream of energy stopped. David opened his eyes to dim, black Skill Slates. The Skill Slates no longer held any infused intent—they were empty husks now.
“That took a while,” Elion grumbled. He retrieved the three Skill Slates in a hurry while continuing to glare at David.
David didn’t mind. He understood the merchant’s anger; after all, who wouldn’t be upset when asked for three Skill Slates at a 50% discount? Actually, he had asked for four Skill Slates for a grand total of one Silver and 40 Bronze, but Elion had looked like he was about to commit murder at any moment. David was forced to retract, which was how he ended up buying three Skill Slates – after negotiating a little bit harder to decrease the price even further.
His negotiations might have nearly ended in a blood feud, but they left him with five Bronze and plenty of Iron to buy other supplies. A fair trade, especially given the gains from the Skill Slates
“I’m not in a rush,” David responded with a shrug, his eyes lingering on the notifications.
[Skill Slate [Cure Wounds] has been successfully absorbed.]
[Tier-0 VIII] → [Tier-0 IX]
[Skill Rune has been successfully bound.]
[Shield of Faith – Tier-0]
[Skill Rune has been successfully bound.]
[Oasis of Harmony – Tier-0]
A thin smile spread across his face. Information streams of the new Skill Runes entered his mind, which felt like someone was trying to push massive dictionaries into his already crammed head. It was not necessarily painful, but the discomfort was unpleasant. David groaned and felt like smashing his head open to create more space.
Digesting the newly acquired information took a while, and he could hardly move around without failing to concentrate on the information streams. He had to keep digesting them to unravel the secrets of his new Skill Runes. Thus, David ignored the curses around him – he blocked other customers –, and stood still.
Both new Skill Runes were interesting, but neither could be considered an attack-type Skill.
[Shield of Faith]…it creates a shield around a target. Not bad, especially when combined with [Bless].
David mused. It was a good Skill Rune.
[Oasis of Harmony] was cheap, and for good reason; it decreased the target’s appeal to hostile creatures, though it probably wouldn’t do much in the middle of battle. It wasn’t like an enemy would stop thrashing his target if he used the Skill.
David doubted it would work like that, but the Skill Rune’s full potential had to be tested. In the worst case, the target would have to be out of combat, or someone else would have to be near the target to avoid getting attacked first.
It didn’t seem like much to most, but David liked it.
If he could influence enemy aggression, he’d gain an edge—a step closer to controlling the battlefield.
He finished digesting as much information as possible before resuming purchasing a few things.
David bought a sturdy pair of black boots, crafted from hardened monster leather and reinforced with thin metal plates. Stylish yet practical, they would keep his footing steady and protect his feet and ankles from serious damage.
Sure, he could heal most wounds, but he didn’t want to risk losing his feet on the battlefield.
He considered purchasing some armor in other shops – Elion’s discounts forced them to do the same, albeit at a lower intensity –but David decided against it. He chose to focus on his Skill Runes as a means of protection instead of purchasing armor. [Shield of Faith] ought to be better than your average armor once pushed to a higher rank.
David checked the countdown. Less than four hours remained until the Horde would spawn. That wasn’t enough to train extensively, but it was better than nothing. Even more so with a Recovery Serum at his disposal.
However, he needed a training buddy to start training like a maniac. Or multiple.
Near Arc should be a bunch of stronger Infected…
It was worth a try.
***
[0H:04M:35S]
“That was a pain in the ass,” David grumbled in mild frustration as he stumbled back into the Sanctuary. He didn’t see any guards in the outskirts, but that wasn’t surprising. Nobody was there. The outskirts of the System Sanctuary had been abandoned. Temporarily, at least.
Arc’s residents had been given shelter in the market square and its surroundings, decreasing the area that had to be protected by the guards at Arc’s center. “The market square was crammed, filled with curses, complaints, and shouts reaching his ears.
Nobody was talking to him. All the residents did was complain about their situation. Some even cried, bawling their eyes out.
They didn’t believe in their survival, trembling in fear, certain this was their last day alive. No one wanted to die, yet they did little to help. If anything, they made the guards’ lives harder by complaining, cursing, and screaming at the top of their lungs.
“The Horde had yet to emerge, but chaos had already seized control of the System Sanctuary.
David was about to return to the market square to check on the other combatants when he heard a shout from his left.
“If you’re looking for the others, they’re outside. The Familia established a small camp behind Arc’s northern exist.”
David turned at a guard’s shout, catching his gesture northward toward the exit.
“Thanks,” He waved goodbye and departed immediately.
He jogged lightly, releasing traces of [Holy Touch] to draw in the surrounding Aether. His pores opened, absorbing it fully into his energy pathways. It wasn’t perfect since he had already annexed most Aether within the energy pathways, but the Recovery Serum’s effect had yet to wear off.
The Recovery Serum still lingered in his system, steady and potent. After three hours, he’d expected it to wear off, but it showed no signs of fading.
David reached the northern exit shortly. His eyes drifted across the makeshift camp, assessing the situation ahead.
Some hasty defenses have been set up, though they won’t last long.
He pressed his lips together and counted the fighters scattered across the area with a squint.
Probably over a hundred, but certainly less than three hundred. Is that enough?
“Common Rifts usually summon a few Mini-Bosses, a bunch of stronger monsters, and they release a constant stream of ordinary monsters,” David murmured, “The Fang Den wasn’t open for long, but there were close to 100 ordinary monsters. Compared to that…no demons spawned for several hours. There should be…”
“You cannot calculate like that,” A familiar voice resounded. David turned left, where he saw Torb and Melach. The dwarf was coated in a thin-plated armor, covering most parts of his body. He had a new shield and wore a neat helmet as well. David nearly didn’t recognize him. If not for Melach, David might never have noticed Torb.
But the elf had also changed. David raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sharpness in Melach’s tone as he interrupted. Melach’s posture was also different, and his bright, bluish veins had turned purple.
David watched Melach emptying a vial with crimson liquid, “As I said, you cannot calculate like that.”
“Each monster type has a different spawn rate, depending on the Rift’s grade and ambient Aether.” Melach cleared his throat. ”Demons are considered demonic creatures and are thus on a higher level than Fangs, for example. That is also why they won’t spawn en masse. Not in Common Rifts, at least. However, since we’re about to face a Horde, we can assume that the Demons that would have spawned in the last six hours emerge simultaneously, on top of a few dozen, maybe more, Demons that formed from the Aether overflow.”
David was still scrutinizing Melach and the changes he’d gone through when a dark screen materialized before him.
[The Main Rift to the Nebulus Hell nourished. A Horde of [Darkais] has been formed. Commence the Horde’s descent.]
[Good Luck.]
“Good luck? Fuck you!” David grumbled right before a shockwave of utter darkness swept through the makeshift camp.
The shockwave surprised him, but whatever had been infused into it felt even more dangerous. It felt eerie…sinister even.
David couldn’t feel what it was, but it forced its way through his skin. It entered his body, infiltrated his energy pathways, and pushed him further. Deeper. Much deeper.
[You came in contact with ‘Beckoning of Darkai’. A trace of Demonic Essence rooted in your Soul.]
[You have been corrupted.]
David didn’t feel much. He instinctively used [Cleanse] when the latter notification popped up.
[Proficiency of Cleanse reached 100%.]
[Tier-0 IV] → [Tier-0 V]
[Cleanse reached the first minor threshold.
Cleansing efficiency and potency increased. Energy consumption decreased. ]
“Isn’t the Demon Rift a few kilometers from here?”
How did a shockwave infused with some sort of demonic ability or curse reach Arc this fast?
“Yep,” Torb murmured, turning to David while the color in his face drained.
This was going to be a hard nut to crack. David retrieved a Mental Fortitude Serum, popped it open, and emptied it. The serum was sour, but so was their future if the defenders’ morale were to crumble even before the real battle started.
David used [Cleanse] on Melach and Torb, then leaped to the other defenders.
He looked over the crowd of nearly two hundred faces, all tight with confusion and panic.
Comments
small_brain_boy
MC's about to get a Holy workout
