Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 35B2 - New Home

"It's time for you to depart." Torb’s voice pulled David back to his senses.

He had planned to focus on his new Skills and the changes in his old Skills, but the look in the dwarf’s eyes made him change his mind.

"Fine. We can go," he muttered, turning to leave.

However, Torb didn’t move. David looked up and noticed Melach’s somber expression.

"That is not what I meant. You don’t get it, do you?" Torb sighed deeply. "I want you to leave the Sanctuary."

Huh? David’s eyes narrowed. Did he mishear just now? Torb did not want him to step out of the Rift but to leave the Sanctuary?

"Don’t look at me like that. You cannot tell me that you did not expect something like this. You angered the dwarves. You disrespected us and humiliated us in our Sanctuary. Before the Fortress… in his territory!" Torb stared coldly at David for a moment and sighed. "They didn’t like that, especially the men and women whose existence you disregarded when you unleashed your Intent to barge into the Rift."

The dwarf hesitated for a moment. "I’m sorry to say this—you should know I hate to be the bearer of bad news—but you went too far. And this has nothing to do with different traditions or anything like that. You could have asked us—me—for permission, and I would have done it. But you didn’t. You took it by force instead."

He had to leave. David had expected some form of punishment, but getting thrown out after helping this much wasn’t what he anticipated.

Is that why she was here? David wondered, turning to Maja.

"I trained her a little while you were busy," Zachariah said with a knowing smile.

However, Maja shuddered at the regressor’s words. "You call that training? T-That… that was torture!"

David cocked an eyebrow at that, but Zachariah shrugged and added, "All I did was give her some advice. A few helpful pieces of information and a… little push, if you will."

Maja trembled but forced a smile as David looked over. However, as their eyes locked, she looked aside, stammering, "H-How about you come to our town? It… It cannot compare to the Sanctuary, but we worked hard in the last few weeks. A lot has changed, and… and I think everyone would be happy to have you there."

That sounded like a plan. But he also considered searching for his family now that he’d grown stronger. David glanced at Zachariah for a moment and channeled his Blood ability into his eyes.

He is also much stronger than before. His stats are probably higher than mine now, he thought with certainty. Spending three weeks to acquire a Unique Class wasn’t a bad deal. David didn’t regret it in the slightest, especially since Herald of Origin seemed to be a fairly powerful Class. But what he liked about it the most was that he’d acquired the Unique Class without the help of a transcendent being.

It hadn’t required the Essence of two transcendental beings to give him a Class like Lifeweaver. Instead, he had absorbed enough Origin Essence to procure it.

Still, he wasn’t sure how much the Earthen Union had changed in the last few weeks. He was certainly not the only one who had gotten stronger. David glanced at Maja, tilting his head. Someone capable of creating spatial portals might be exactly what he needed to travel the Earthen Union and search for his family and friends.

"Have you considered traveling the Earthen Union?" David asked her and quickly added, "Not right now, but in the future. I want to search for my family and friends, and I think a strong Portaligist might be what it takes to travel safely."

Maja’s eyes widened slightly, but she nodded. Yet her expression looked somber as she cast a glance at the ground. "I… I’m already helping others find their families and friends. Teleporting helps me grow, so… I might as well help others find their beloved—or closure—while I train…"

"I…" Her head flicked up to look straight at David. "I want to grow stronger… I know I’m weak… but I want to help. I don’t want others to suffer the same as I… as I did."

Maja sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. David couldn’t help but think—this wasn’t a charity. However, that thought lasted only for a moment. He didn’t know who she had lost or if she still had someone dear to her left. Maybe they were all dead, killed by the integration into the Pantheon.

David sighed, leaning closer to pat her back. He ought to help her if she returned the favor. It was that simple. He retrieved a clean cloth from his spatial storage and gently wiped her tears.

"Everything will be alright."

She didn’t stop sobbing right away, but Maja looked up and nodded slowly, looking uncertain.

"How about we leave?" Torb’s impatient voice rang out, but David could only smirk at that.

"Are you eager to get rid of me? Maybe this is the last time we can have a good talk, and you're rushing me off. I’m hurt."

David chuckled when the dwarf’s face turned red.

“You dork. You can still enter the Sanctuary to buy and sell goods. That doesn’t mean my people will be kind to you—I sincerely doubt they will sell you anything for a low price—but you can always trade with the other merchants. Arc’s former residents won’t mistreat you.” Torb pointed at David’s chest and drilled his finger into it. “Regardless, you are not allowed to sleep here. Maybe you can stay for a night or two in the future, but not now.”

“You could help Fortress with some things, and he will ensure you have safe lodging and better treatment in the Sanctuary, but that will take time.”

David listened but remained silent. He glanced at Zachariah, who shook his head slowly. So, the regressor wasn’t going to come with him? He half-expected that, but it saddened him a little bit.

“Did you call your family?” he turned to ask Melach.

The elf’s expression hadn’t changed. He still looked somber.

“No.”

“I don’t know why you’re still hesitating, but you should change that as soon as possible. You never know what happens. Not before it is too late, at least,” David said, knowing he was no better than Melach. But maybe the words resonated more with Melach than himself.

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***

A familiar portal opened before David. He studied it for a while, wondering how it would feel if he could create such portals as well. He felt a sting of envy as he turned to Maja, who had finally stopped crying.

Her eyes were red and puffy, but she looked at him defiantly. “Are you ready to leave?”

You’re shy and easily frightened most of the time, but now you’re looking at me like this? David thought and nodded.

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He studied the blue crystal in his hands—Torb had given it to him. It was his only means of communication with Zachariah and the others, but it was also all he needed. He wouldn’t stop trading with the dwarves and others. However, trade would be all that connected them.

That was probably for the best. Everyone had their own plans, and it was time for David to devise his own.

He walked through the portal with long strides, but his heart ached as the scenery around him shifted. No matter how he looked at the current situation, leaving the Dwarven Sanctuary indicated the start of a new chapter in his life. And the end of the last.

David stepped out of the portal and into the familiar plaza of the Cursed town—if one could still call it such. He took a few deep breaths and watched the faces of the people in the plaza change. They smiled at Maja and waved excitedly at her, but that was not all. David felt the gaze of many linger on him. Not angry glares or stares filled with hatred or killing intent. There was kindness and gratitude. Hope.

They waved at him, and some even greeted him, thanking him for curing them.

“They… remember me?” David muttered, checking the surroundings for life signals. He smiled, satisfied to see that almost all of them were strong and full of life. Most were a lot stronger than they used to be.

“Of course we do. It would be rude and heartless to forget the face of the man who saved their lives,” a deep voice resounded from further away.

David turned to see Lukas approaching with Zora in his arms. More people with stronger life signals approached them with smiles.

David thought about smiling back, but he stopped when Maja flinched.

What’s up with her? Did they have a fallout? he wondered, thinking back to their encounter with the Void Fragment. Maybe the death of their friends split them up.

He shrugged inwardly.

“We listened to your friend and helped others acquire a Basic Class. Not the youngest, of course. There is no need to force them into anything when they don’t know what they want just yet,” Zora explained with a bright smile, but he didn’t like it. Her smile seemed fake.

Regardless, he agreed with her comment. “Children—teenagers even—can be problematic once they acquire power. Keeping them in check is troublesome.”

That reminded him of Jake and Olivia. How are they doing? Are they still alive? He felt a sting of guilt thinking back to how he had treated them, but David hoped that they were alive and well.

Maybe scaring them had helped them survive—made them more careful in their actions, he told himself, hoping for the best.

“I guess most of those who do not wish to fight actively picked the Mage and Cleric as their Basic Class. The majority are probably Mages because—well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

David smirked as he watched a fireball fly high into the air. It exploded, shrouding the sky in twinkling sparks that resembled fireworks.

“You’re right. Not with everything, but we have many Mages and Clerics in town. We have some Hunters in our group, but most able men and women picked Warrior as their Primary Class. Your friend’s talk about extending their lifespan is probably part of the reason. With Hunter and Warrior, they don’t feel bad about enhancing Body,” Lukas explained but waved his hand quickly. “Either way, many of us sustained more or less grievous wounds, which is why we are happy to have more than 100 Clerics in Ashville. That’s nothing compared to half of Ashville being Mages, throwing around their magic projectiles, but it is more than enough to heal the wounded.”

David listened, raising an eyebrow. The number of Clerics and Mages was staggering.

How strong will the Mages be after they undergo their Primary Class Advancement? he asked himself while Lukas continued talking about the town and the things they had done in the last few weeks.

“On another note.” Lukas looked him straight in the eyes for the first time. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, that? I annoyed the dwarves a little bit too much, and they told me to leave. I’m not exiled or anything, but I hurt their pride,” David said.

Lukas nodded slowly. “Does that mean you are going to stay here?”

The swordsman looked at Maja, who seemed to squirm under his scrutiny

“If that’s okay with you.”

Lukas studied him for a moment, and David could see a flicker of hesitation—and was that fear?—in his eyes, but he nodded.

“Of course! It would be stupid to reject a powerful Healer, don’t you think?”

David shrugged, not bothering to clarify that he was as much a fighter as he was a healer. “I don’t know. The dwarves didn’t like me.”

He didn’t want to waste too much time on small talk and was glad when Lukas said something to his allies. The swordsman turned back to him with a smile.

“Can you heal if we ever need healing?” he asked.

“Sure. You can come to me if Zora’s healing isn’t enough.”

Zora’s smile faltered, but nobody seemed to mind.

The group departed, leaving David and Maja in silence. Nobody said anything for a moment, but Maja was tense.

“Do you want to stay at my place?” she suggested quietly.

“If that’s fine with you,” David nodded. He had a bunch of mattresses in his storage, but he wasn’t going to build a waterproof roof with them.

Maja’s face flushed red, and she scurried away in a hurry. He smiled as she slowed to turn, gesturing for him to follow.

She sure is cute, David thought as he followed her with relaxed strides.

He watched Maja in amusement as she tried to rush him into reaching her home sooner, but David checked on the altered Runes and the new ones. This time, he didn’t receive much information from the influxes. Or, at least, he couldn’t quite recollect it. But he was lucky enough to recall snippets.

[Soul Domain] seems similar to [Mind Palace], he thought, comparing what he knew of his new Class Skill to [Mind Palace]. They appeared to follow the same principle; both strengthened the user’s foundation. However, [Soul Domain] strengthened the soul rather than the mind. That was hardly a surprise to David.

[Indomitable Will], [Primeval Pulse], and the Intent [Origin Attribute] were harder to understand. David tried using the Intent on the way to Maja’s place, but nothing big happened. He felt a subtle nudge in his mind space from one of his Skill Runes: [Meditation]. Was the Intent related to his meditation? If so, what did it do?

He was not in a rush to test it out, but it piqued his interest. Just like the Advanced Skills he’d acquired. The Class Skills he’d obtained from Herald of Origin did not have a Tier, and David could faintly recall [Indomitable Will] being a passive Skill like [A Body’s Purity] had been. But it did not reinforce his body—not actively, at least.

I have to figure out how strong [Indomitable Will] is. And how potent [Primeval Pulse] is, David pondered, his thoughts pulling away from the Advanced Skills and toward the changes in his body. His physique had changed the most. Not only was his Body stat the highest—already at the peak of Advanced and about to reach the next Rank—but [Reinforce] displayed his Body as ‘Elite’ too. No matter how he looked at the changes, David had grown tremendously.

But what was he to do now? Zachariah’s vast knowledge of the future and everything it encompassed was no longer accessible to him. He could message the regressor using the communication crystal, but David doubted the situation would be as it used to be.

He glanced at Maja, who had stopped before a small house, her cheeks finally regaining some of their natural color.

“Wel-welcome to my humble abode.” She gestured to the house with a thin but tense smile.

There was no rushing. A good plan required time and effort, David thought, glancing at Maja.

And, perhaps, a Portalogist.