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Apocalypse Healer - B1 Chapter 35
🕑 Added 2024-11-06 11:00:08 +0000 UTCAs he followed the Dwarf and Elf, David used [Cure Wounds] on himself and Torb whenever possible. Since he had no idea how to loot the Bosses, David watched silently as Melach strode toward them at an agonizingly slow pace. The Elf walked around the first Mini-Boss, his eyes locked on the dead creature.
After a few seconds, he slowed, and a thin smile blossomed as he picked up a small, gray slate. Melach and Torb made eye contact before the Elf handed Torb the slate. A moment later, Melach turned away to continue his search. He found two crystals sprawled around the other Mini-Bosses.
A Skill Slate of [Block] and two Fragments. That’s not too bad.” Torb grimaced.
Melach sighed in exasperation. “It could have been worse, but I wouldn’t say it was worth the near-death experience.”
“What about this then?” David asked, pulling a long dagger – or was it a shortsword? – out of the Alpha Fang’s body.
Instead of trailing Melach like a duckling, David had approached the Alpha Fang, realizing there was no need for a special looting technique. An eye for detail was all it took – except for locating the dagger.
It was a beautiful weapon, jutting from the Alpha Fang’s corpse in a way that made it impossible to miss.
It looked so majestic to David that he struggled to consider it merely a weapon. Its handle was a mixture of vibrant obsidian and onyx, but it wasn’t cold. Quite the contrary. The handle was warm and filled David with a sense of familiarity. David felt like he had been carrying the dagger for decades. The blade was unlike anything he’d seen before. It was flat with two sharp edges and reminded him of a machete with a pointed tip. Yet, while resembling a machete, it also looked like a long dagger.
The blade, about 30 centimeters long, was made of the same material as its handle. But what surprised David was that the blade wasn’t coated in the Alpha Fang’s fresh blood. Not even a droplet of blood dripped from the blade when he’d pulled it out.
How weird.
David didn’t think twice before thrusting the blade back into the Alpha Fang. He twisted the blade easily and retrieved it, only to see it was still clean. The only change was in the blade’s pattern. Initially inconspicuous, it now displayed thin, crimson vein-like lines etched through the obsidian-black material.
First, they looked beautiful but otherwise useless. It took David a few seconds to note that the crimson veins were pulsating.
David’s smile widened as he looked at the others, who turned toward him. But their expressions didn’t change; if anything, they looked confused, which left David puzzled in turn.
Is the weapon worthless? Why aren’t they saying anything?
David watched as Melach cocked an eyebrow while Torb stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“What are we supposed to see, buddy?” Torb asked at last.
Huh? Were they blind?
David tilted his head and pointed at the dagger. “This dagger, of cour—Wait...where did it go? It was here just a moment ago!”
The blade was nowhere to be seen. David's gaze darted left and right. He searched everywhere, but the dagger was gone.
David could still feel the blade, as though it were with him, yet no one else seemed able to see it. A pulse of pain spread through David, and he winced. His Holy Sea was suddenly under a lot of pressure. Something pressed hard on the energy reservoir, making it incredibly difficult to stay connected to it at all times.
What’s going on?
He just lost the Alpha Fang’s loot, and now his Holy Sea was acting up? What would happen next? Would his heart explode?
David closed his eyes and focused, entering his mind space. There, he found the answer to his confusion. The dagger was manifesting beside his Skill Runes. It was merely the symbol of a dark blade, but David could immediately tell that it was the weapon dropped by the Alpha Fang. It appeared in his mind space and connected to the Holy Sea.
That’s why it is under so much pressure. Establishing a connection strains the Holy Sea…
It was annoying that nobody asked him for permission to connect anything to his Holy Sea, but curiosity almost immediately swallowed his annoyance.
He opened his eyes as the strain on the Holy Sea eased up and saw Melach and Torb inching closer. They might have called out his name multiple times, but David heard them only now.
“David?!” Torb roared.
“I am back,” David responded in a hurry, his eyes drifting to a new notification.
[Obsidian Blade has been bound to the User. Summon it at will to best your enemies!]
David tilted his head, imagining the Obsidian Blade back in his hand. His intent was crystal clear, and he felt something stir within him.
The Obsidian Blade materialized in his palm, taking Torb by surprise. The Dwarf exclaimed and stepped back, his face a mix of shock and surprise. David glanced at Melach, who had frozen in place, his gaze fixed on the dagger.
“Is that a magical armament?” The Elf asked immediately, stepping up to David and reaching for the Obsidian Blade. His eyes trailed across the weapon’s beautiful blade, only for it to disappear when Melach took it.
The Obsidian Blade returned to David’s mind space, forcing him to materialize it again.
“It’s soulbound!” Torb exclaimed. David noticed the gleam in the Dwarf's eyes, even brighter than Melach's, as Torb stepped closer to study the weapon in David’s hands.
“A soulbound weapon drop,” Torb murmured. “There are no enchantments on it, but to think something like that would drop from a Common Rift’s boss...” Melach chimed in, “That has to be the first-clearance bonus! It has to be!”
David couldn’t help but wonder if Melach had lost his mind. But as he glanced at Torb, he noticed that the Dwarf looked just as agitated—and maybe even confused.
“I guess a soulbound weapon is quite rare,” David hesitated. “Nobody can steal it, which is great, but… is that all to a soulbound weapon? I can summon and de-summon it, and nobody can take it away from me…”
He was trying hard not to sound sarcastic. However, David was struggling to understand why Melach and Torb seemed so excited. The Obsidian Blade was nice, but weren’t they a little bit over the top?
“You don’t understand,” Melach muttered, turning to Torb. “He doesn’t understand it.”
“Obviously, I don’t get it,” David snorted, “This is my first week in the goddamn integration!”
Melach’s lips parted, but Torb elbowed the Elf.
“Soulbound weapons are unique because their strength adapts to the User’s Rank. This dagger will grow alongside you as long as you can nourish it,” Torb explained patiently, “And before you ask, I don’t know how you nourish this dagger. Some soulbound weapons need pure Aether, others require special materials, substances, or unique types of energy. You have to search for it independently but don’t be discouraged. It will be worth the effort!”
David wasn’t discouraged. If anything, his expression lit up as he spun the blade in his hands before piercing it back into the Alpha Fang’s body.
“I was wondering why the blade wasn’t drenched in blood earlier,” David said, pulling a small portion of the blade out to check on the wildly pulsing crimson veins, “Yep. It’s definitely absorbing the Alpha’s blood.”
David left the Obsidian Blade where it was, already planning to experiment with it soon. He had to research how much blood was needed to strengthen the Obsidian Blade and what it meant when a soulbound weapon grew with his Rank increases. Would its sharpness and durability improve with a Rank increase, or was it possible for enchantments to manifest as his rank increased? He had no clue, but the thought of discovering the answer thrilled him.
“It dropped a Fragment of Blood as well,” Torb noted, pointing somewhere behind David. The Dwarf walked over to the corpse’s lower body and retrieved a crimson-colored crystal.
“It would be best to have enough storage space or time to skin them. The furs of Bronze Bosses are quite valuable,” The Dwarf added, patting the dead Alpha Fang before his eyes drifted to the claws and fangs.
“Are you really going to do this? Didn’t you say that we’re short on time?” Melach frowned deeply.
Torb waved his hand dismissively, “David’s soulbound weapon needs more time to digest the Bosses’ blood.”
Torb looked at David, “You can probably try nourishing the weapon with the blood of ordinary monsters, but it won’t be as efficient. Furthermore, I’m unsure if absorbing the blood of weak, low-potential creatures will help you. The greater the source of nutrients, the better. Especially if you want your weapon to evolve. The chance of that happening is low, but if you nourish it with the best of the best, it should be feasible.”
Torb shrugged, looking less than certain about what he’d just said. David took his words with a grain of salt, which was probably for the best.
Torb turned away, retrieved his mace, and smashed the Alpha Fang’s paws, shattering its bones to retrieve the claws. It wasn’t a smooth process, but it was efficient. Torb worked quickly, collected the claws, and turned to the fangs. He retrieved them as well, but the extraction process looked a little bit more complicated there. The Dwarf was more careful not to damage the fangs since they were likely more valuable.
Torb moved fast, and he finished extracting most claws and fangs intact. Not even ten minutes must have passed before he pushed forward to repeat the same process with the Mini-Bosses.
David watched Torb work for a few minutes, then turned his attention back to the Obsidian Blade. He retrieved it with a satisfied smile. The crimson veins were thicker, and the blade looked sharper.
He wanted to test it out, to find out how powerful the Obsidian Blade was and how it would react to [Holy Touch], but the rewards he had forgotten about grounded him back to reality.
[Rift clearance rewards have been determined. Survivors: Three.]
[Contribution has been calculated. Distribute rewards!]
Right. There was that.
[You contributed greatly to the Fang Den’s clearance.]
[Your weakest Stat[Soul] has been improved.]
Low(-)(Basic) → Low(Basic)
[Your Skill Runes’ proficiency increased drastically.]
[Your Rank increased by one.]
[Iron VII] → [Iron VIII]
[One Attribute Point has been added.]
Comments
small_brain_boy
I'm thinking the red motes of light are either bloob essence or life force of some sort.
