Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 13B2 - Secondary Class

David couldn’t believe it. Watching Zachariah concoct a potion was like watching a cook with decades of experience prepare his signature dish. The whole process was seamless, making David believe the regressor had been concocting potions for decades. How else could someone work so smoothly with their hands and a pair of Sword Intent blades that never stopped moving?

The blades did all the cutting, and Zachariah’s fluid, constant movements amazed David. It was as if every motion had been meticulously planned and rehearsed a thousand times.

Anyone could theoretically concoct potions without being an Alchemist, but with Zachariah’s level of experience, it’d be a waste if he weren’t one. Maybe that was his Secondary Class?

David reminded himself that Classes rank up by doing tasks that align with their profession. He also knew that performing more difficult tasks granted more experience. For most Classes, that meant the awakened would have to fight more dangerous foes to gain a lot of experience, but David was almost 100% certain that concocting complex potions worked the same for an Alchemist.

Didn’t that mean Zachariah could use his knowledge as a regressor to reach the Silver Rank, maybe even Gold Rank, leveraging his extensive knowledge and experience in alchemy?

Though it hadn’t been easy, the scene unfolding before David reaffirmed Zachariah’s identity as a regressor. Zachariah was human: benefiting from the Blessing of the World: yet he was more knowledgeable than Melach and Torb, who’d been raised in a world integrated centuries before the Earthen Union.

Reaching into the storage device, David retrieved the glass vials and yellow paper stripes Zachariah had asked for. He handed them over and observed as Zachariah filled the vials with the viscous liquid from the cauldron. Using corks to seal the vials, Zachariah glued the yellow paper stripes onto them, fully securing the containers: except for one.

“Can you give this to Melach, please?” Zachariah asked. David complied, taking the vial and walking over to the elf. Though Melach was still unconscious, he swallowed the viscous liquid as David poured it into his mouth.

Once done, David gently put Melach back on the ground.

“What’s going on with Melach?” he asked. Turning around, he saw Zachariah back at work, cleaning the cauldron and his tools without paying any attention to his surroundings.

“I see. This might take a while…” David muttered to himself.

***

David experimented with [Blood Bullet], [Slash], and [Healing Light] while waiting. He had no idea how long Zachariah would take, but he wouldn’t waste time idling. Channeling Blood into his eyes helped him monitor his surroundings, even though the massive cavern walls diminished his ability to detect lifeforms.

Regardless, David liked the sensation of Blood in his eyes. It felt as though he could see more of the world that way. It didn’t drain much Blood, and he was certain it aided [Eagle Eyes]’ progress. Progress was all that mattered.

His experiments didn’t result in extraordinary achievements, but they pushed him to greater heights. Alongside the Blessing of the World, his efforts helped him improve quickly.

“That felt good,” Zachariah groaned, seated beside him.

“Done?” David asked, returning the Obsidian Blade to its place in the Berserk Giant’s carcass.

“For the time being, yes. I should concoct more potions,” Zachariah sighed, though a foolish-looking smile blossomed on his lips. “I forgot how good it felt to level up several times.”

That confirmed David’s suspicion. “So, you really are an Alchemist. That’s your Secondary Class.”

“Are you surprised?” Zachariah chuckled as David nodded. “It’s a perfect Class. Alchemist may only increase Mind by one at the Bronze Rank, but that’s exactly what I need. You probably figured this out, but my Primary Class focuses on Body, while also increasing the Soul stat a little: neglecting Mind. But Laws and their subsidiary Intents require decent Mind stats to be used to their fullest, just like high-ranked Skills.”

“Thus, Alchemist helps me balance my stats, especially once it reaches the Secondary and Tertiary Advancement,” Zachariah explained. “But reaching that level will take a while. Until then, I can concoct improved potions. And I do know a bunch about various concoctions: including poison, acid, sedatives, and so forth. Potions to improve your physique and fix what’s broken exist as well.”

Zachariah’s expression turned somber as he glanced at Melach with a wry smile. “Just like his cracked Mana Core,” he murmured.

Huh? Melach’s Mana Core was damaged? David recalled what happened when his Holy Sea was damaged and grimaced. So that was why the elf was still out of it.

David’s attention shifted as he noticed the life in Melach stir. The elf was awake.

Melach gasped and jerked upright, clutching his chest. His expression was a mix of relief and panic as he exclaimed, “My Core!”

Zachariah laughed. “Don’t worry. Your Core is already healing.”

The elf looked over to them, his eyes wide. “How? I received a notification saying…” Melach trailed off, staring at Zachariah with his mouth agape.

“You should pay more attention to your Mind stat,” the regressor lectured. “If you push yourself too far without the necessary capabilities, you’ll end up like this again.”

David smiled as Melach waved his hand dismissively, a grim look on his face. “I know… But encountering Giants was… beyond my expectations.”

Was Melach afraid of Giants? He hadn’t seemed afraid of them before, but the tension in his shoulders now made David second-guess his earlier impression.

“I don’t think anyone expected Giants in this Rift,” Zachariah shrugged, his gaze moving through the small cavern. “Is everyone fine if we proceed? I won’t judge anyone if you want to back out. Claiming the Rift Core will be a bit more complicated if an active Gate leads to different Giant tribes.”

“Wait, what? You’re giving up?” Torb’s startled voice broke the silence.

“He never said that,” David said sternly, turning to Zachariah. “I’m fine. Our growth in this place is quite fast, and we’re still alive.”

“For now,” Melach remarked snarkily as he got up from the ground.

Obviously, David thought but added aloud, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”

The elf cocked an eyebrow at him and sighed. “Whatever.”

Melach pulled a glass vial with blue liquid from his potion belt and removed the cork. He emptied the vial but choked on the liquid when Zachariah suddenly appeared beside him.

David chose not to eavesdrop on their conversation. Instead, his attention drifted to the [Secondary Class] part of his status screen.

Secondary Class - [None]

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David concentrated on the [None] tag, prompting it to display his options. His pulse quickened as the status screen shifted on command, transforming into a list of items. What kind of Secondary Class would fit him best?

[Herbalist: (Common): 55%]

[Sword Warrior: (Common): 68%]

[Priest: (Common): 71%]

[Monk: (Common): 97%]

[Druid: (Common): 89%]

…

[Berserker: (Uncommon): 81%]

[Artificer: (Uncommon): 50%]

[Soul Squire: (Uncommon): 56%]

…

[Astrologia: (Rare): 61%]

[Blood Mage: (Rare): 59%]

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[Cycle Summoner: (Rare): 67%]

[Reaper: (Rare+): 51%]

…

The list went on and on, but David was too overwhelmed to inspect every option. He didn’t even dare check the descriptions and gains for all the Classes, knowing he wouldn’t be able to decide. It might have been easy to pick Lifeweaver as his Primary Class Advancement, but that had been out of necessity—to some degree. Lifeweaver was the highest-rated Class that replaced his broken Holy Sea with another energy reservoir. In addition, it used the Essences of both Asmodeus and Bereth. Picking Lifeweaver had been a great choice.

However, the Secondary Class… David was unsure.

“The percentages behind the Secondary Classes indicate their compatibility with the Primary Class, right?” he asked aloud.

When nobody answered for a few seconds, David looked up to see everyone staring at him.

“What?” He tilted his head, feeling uncomfortable as his companions’ expressions shifted to… was that anger?

“You didn’t pick your Secondary Class yet?” Melach asked. “I… was certain you’d do that right after the Demon Horde was defeated—or the day after that at the latest…”

“Why would I do that? Zachariah said it’s necessary to attain great achievements to unlock more Classes that align with your Primary Class. That’s what I’ve been doing—growing the list of Classes I can pick.”

Had he done something wrong? David glanced between Melach and Torb. “You both picked your Secondary Classes already?”

Torb snorted. “I’m already about to reach the Bronze Rank with my Secondary Class. Soul Squire will probably receive its first promotion once we’re done here.”

Soul Squire? Was that the Class Torb had chosen?

“I also have the Soul Squire Class as an option,” David said, his curiosity growing.

“Tower of Teron strengthens my body, focusing on durability and endurance. That’s how I survived the Brachiosaur’s attack. Soul Squire’s focus is the Soul at the Iron Rank. As long as it evolves as intended, I’ll be much stronger, with a powerful Soul and even stronger Body, allowing me to use my Skills more often, faster, and with greater potency,” Torb explained in detail.

It was the first time David had heard about the dwarf’s Primary and Secondary Classes. He’d been told not to ask someone about their Classes, so he never did. But now it felt like remaining silent had been foolish. He cursed himself for not asking more questions and turned to Melach.

“My Primary Class improves the Mind and the Soul, which is why I picked my Secondary Class to improve Body and Soul after the first advancement,” the elf said, frowning at him.

Locking eyes with Melach made David feel like he was being lectured for his ignorance. Maybe he was foolish, but all problems could be solved by picking a suitable Secondary Class.

Torb ignored his Mind stat and only slightly improved his Soul stat. His priority was his Body, and that… made sense, he thought. Meanwhile, David guessed Melach disliked his natural low strength as a Mage and had chosen a Class that strengthened his Soul to enhance his magical Skills while balancing his stats by improving his Body.

Zachariah was similar to both of them. However, the regressor did not neglect anything.

“Alchemist is a Common or Uncommon Class, right?” he asked Zachariah, who nodded.

“Why didn’t you pick a Rare Class? They should provide greater Attribute increments and Class Skills, or they wouldn’t be higher-ranked, right?”

David considered it best to pick a Class that granted several useful Class Skills and additional Attribute Points. Rare Classes should fulfill that expectation.

“Alchemist suits my goals best. It might not perfectly align with my Primary Class, but it grants me everything I need as a Common Class,” Zachariah explained calmly. “Furthermore, Alchemist met the requirements to evolve into Prodigious Alchemist, a Unique Class unlocked under specific conditions. The specifics aren’t important. What matters is that it gives me two Attribute Points and upgrades Mind by one for every level. Plus, it grants a few useful Class Skills, which isn’t important for you.”

David mulled over Zachariah’s words and double-checked the list of Classes again. Monk, Druid, and Berserker—the three Classes with the best alignment to Lifeweaver.

“You want me to pick a Common or Uncommon Class?” he asked, unease flickering in his voice.

“I don’t mind what you pick. I don’t even want to know what options you have. Maybe one of your Rare Classes is incredibly useful for one of my future plans. However, I do not wish to interfere too much with your choice. This is your Class to take, your decision to make. You will have to live with it,” Zachariah cleared his throat. “But I want to give you one final piece of advice. It might influence your decision, but I think it’s important for you to remember—if you don’t know it already.”

“Rare Classes are difficult to advance. You'll be stuck with them if you can’t meet their hidden requirements to evolve. That means you’ll never receive additional Attribute Points beyond what your Secondary Class initially offers, nor will you gain any additional Skills for advancing the Class. Choosing a Common or Uncommon Class, which are considerably easier to evolve, might—under certain circumstances—be the better choice.”

Better under certain circumstances. Those words stuck with David.

“How important is alignment again? If I have an option that gives me close to 90% or even more than 95%, should I—”

He couldn’t even finish the question before Zachariah intercepted.

“Pick it!” the regressor declared without hesitation. “Forget what I said before. If you have a Class that aligns with Lifeweaver near perfectly, you pick it!”

A great synergy between Primary and Secondary Classes seemed to mean a lot. David thought about this while glancing at Zachariah, whose sudden change of mind surprised him.

David had always assumed Zachariah wanted him to focus more on healing. He was sure the regressor would push him to pick a more suitable healing-type Secondary Class.

David could understand that sentiment to a certain degree after reflecting on recent events. When Zachariah first complained about his combat style and teamwork, David was reminded of the Fang Den, where almost everyone died.

Could he have saved the other Protectors back then? David doubted it, even if he’d wanted to. The Mini Bosses and the Alpha Fang had been too strong. His shields would have shattered, and his healing would have been too weak and too slow to resurrect the dead.

Later… maybe he could have protected more people. If he had focused on healing more Protectors during the fight against the Darkai, perhaps more could have survived—if there had been someone else to defeat the Herculean Darkai and the Behemoth Darkai.

But David was certain something like that wouldn’t have been possible without multiple First Class Advancements mid-combat or Zachariah’s early return from his Mistwalker hunt. Furthermore, he couldn’t even be sure that Lifeweaver would have been a viable option to pick if not for his actions during the massacre against the Demon Horde. Would Bereth and Asmodeus have even taken an interest in him if not for the Horde fight?

The answers to those questions were simple: David had no idea.

And it didn’t matter either. He couldn’t change the past, nor did he want to.

The past had shaped David into the person he was today, and he was content with that. He was satisfied with himself.

Therefore, he made a choice, hoping he wouldn’t regret it.

You better be right, Zachariah!

A new notification appeared in his vision as he made his choice, and he swallowed nervously.

[Your Secondary Class has been selected.]