Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 14B2 - Legacy

David swallowed as myriad system notifications flashed to life before him, momentarily obscuring his vision.

[Monk(Common) has been chosen.]

[High compatibility between Primary and Secondary Class has been detected.

Additional benefits will be granted.]

[Your Secondary Class’ Rank increased.]

Iron I → Iron V

[Body increased by four]

Lowest(-)(Intermediate) → Low(Intermediate)

Power surged through his body in rapid bursts, and he couldn’t help but grin at the sensation. Even though he’d chosen Monk as his Secondary Class solely based on the compatibility percentage, David felt a thrill of satisfaction knowing it reinforced Body instead of one of the other stats. He steadied himself, enduring the surging power as his gaze darted back to the notifications, his excitement growing.

[Class Skills [Meditation] and [Reinforce] have been fused to your Source. Prepare for the Influx of Information!]

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Tidal waves of knowledge flooded his mind, revealing the basic functions of the two Runes now present in his Source. As David closed his eyes to examine his Source, his brows furrowed at the glowing whirlwind surrounding the Runes. They were small, like most Tier-0 Skills, but the golden particles forcing their way into the Class Skills didn’t seem to belong to them. To David, it felt like they came from something else entirely.

His eyes widened as recognition dawned. I know these particles, he realized, the memory of his wounds mending and the Holy Sea repairing itself during the Kobold battle flooding back.

Until now, David had thought Bereth had healed him. But now, doubt crept in. Had these golden motes been from the System all along? Or was today’s influx something entirely different?

He didn’t know. However, David could feel the Class Skills growing. They expanded to the size of Tier-1 Skill Runes, accompanied by more information seeping into his mind.

David opened his eyes and smiled wryly at the next notification.

[Due to high Class compatibility, Monk’s Class Skills start at a higher level.]

[Tier-0 I] → [Tier-1 V]

He’d expected this message after observing the changes in his Source. However, the following notification—the last he saw—took him completely by surprise. A purple notification with an intricate golden frame appeared:

[Legacy Skill has been detected. [Dao Comprehension] has been engraved on your Source.]

Just as he finished reading, David buckled over as a sharp heat surged through his chest. He closed his eyes, sensing a transformation in his Source.

The engravings of the Law of Blood shifted, forming a golden symbol. It depicted a figure seated in the lotus position. Was it him? Or someone else? David frowned deeply. He wasn’t sitting in the lotus position—just cross-legged. The pain didn’t last long, though. Once the golden symbol was etched onto his Source, the discomfort vanished.

“Weird…” he muttered, taking a few deep breaths as he opened his eyes.

“What Legacy Skill did you obtain?” Zachariah’s voice broke through his thoughts.

David glanced at the regressor. So that’s why he wanted me to pick the Class with high compatibility.

He didn’t respond immediately, turning his attention to his new abilities.

Trying to activate [Meditation] led to immediate failure. The Class Skill didn’t respond.

Maybe… The golden symbol engraved on his Source lingered in his mind, so David sat down cross-legged and tried activating [Meditation] again. The posture of the golden figure reminded him of what little he knew about monks—meditation was one of their defining traits.

Once he cast the Skill, David’s heartbeat slowed, and his mind calmed. The shift in his body and mind was pleasant, but even more so was the enhanced control over the Aether around and within him.

Aether surged through his body, filling his Energy Pathways to the brim. Yet, [Meditation] didn’t stop there. The Skill continued, drawing in more Aether from the surrounding environment, circulating it smoothly through him and filling his being with vigor.

Was that all [Meditation] did? It calmed him, filled his body with Aether, and gave him greater control over it. David experimented further, but there was nothing new to uncover. Or…had he missed something?

He frowned. Was that it?

David hoped the Class Skill might become clearer after exploring the others. If not, he might never use [Meditation].

He shifted to check [Reinforce] and activated the Class Skill, but two messages appeared.

[Reinforce Body?]

[Reinforce Energy Pathways?]

“Huh?” he muttered, shifting to the status screen to double-check [Reinforce].

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[Reinforce]: [Tier-1 V]

Body: Average: I (0.00%)

Energy Pathways: Subpar: VIII (85.64%)

Oh! So that’s what the information meant, David thought, nodding in understanding.

The influx of information made it clear: he could reinforce different aspects of his being, each requiring specific resources. But ‘Subpar’? Really? David clenched his fists. After all the time he’d spent nourishing his Energy Pathways, ‘Subpar’ felt like an insult.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like your new Skills? Or is the Legacy Skill not that good?” Zachariah asked, earning a glare from David.

“I’m trying to figure it out.”

He nibbled on his lower lip and activated [Reinforce] on the Energy Pathways, gasping as a strong suctioning force pulled all the Aether in his body toward [Reinforce]’s Rune. The Skill drained enormous energy, but David cast aside all doubts as he closed his eyes to feel the Energy Pathways.

A tingling sensation spread through his body, precisely following the Energy Pathways. The tingle was less conspicuous around his chest and arms, but it was more pronounced everywhere else—specifically in his legs, feet, and other areas that weren’t naturally trained through constant Skill usage. Very little Blood reached these areas—most of it when he purposely used Blood to nourish the Energy Pathways.

David followed the tingling sensation closely, but [Reinforce] stopped working before he could discover anything special. His body was drained of Aether, yet nothing about the Energy Pathways’ statistics had changed.

That wasn’t enough? David frowned deeply. He sat back cross-legged, activating [Meditation] to replenish his body with as much Aether as [Reinforce] needed.

He could not tell the time, but using both [Meditation] and [Reinforce] together in an energy-dense area seemed to work well enough to strengthen the Energy Pathways by 0.01% after some time.

Regardless of how small his progress was, it was…something.

But isn’t [Holy Touch] faster than [Reinforce]? he wondered. I use [Holy Touch] with Blood, though. Can I add some Blood to [Reinforce]? He came up with multiple tactics to use his new Class Skills efficiently. Could he use [Meditation] to fill his body with crimson motes too? That…should be possible, right? Even if it didn’t work, David was sure he could make good use of his new Class Skills. They appeared better than he feared after first testing [Meditation].

Using them often should push Monk’s Rank, he thought, nodding slowly. Monk didn’t seem like a bad Secondary Class to pick. But maybe that was only because the Class Skills were already at a higher Tier than they would normally start at.

He shrugged, his attention drifting to the golden symbol engraved on his Source.

“How much longer are we going to stay here?” David turned to the others, eying Melach.

“Melach’s Mana Core won’t be usable for another hour or two,” Zachariah commented, which Melach confirmed with a nod. “We can stay here longer than that, but I’d rather claim the Rift Core today if possible.”

Two hours. That was probably enough to test a little bit more.

“Okay,” he muttered, closing his eyes to use [Dao Comprehension]. However, the Legacy Skill did not activate.

David felt the golden symbol stir within him and watched as tiny golden threads spread through his Source. However, just as they neared the Law of Blood’s engravings, the threads retracted, leaving him puzzled.

David activated [Meditation] once more, flooding his body with enough Aether to power [Dao Comprehension] before trying to reactivate the Legacy Skill. The golden threads spread from the golden symbol, yet it was still not enough. He grunted and tapped into his Source to channel Blood into the golden symbol.

A faint crimson tint seeped into the golden threads as they expanded further, reaching for the Law of Blood’s engravings. Something flooded his mind as the threads connected, and his lips parted. Words he had never heard before spilled out of his mouth, yet he instinctively understood their purpose. As the words escaped, David noticed the golden symbol and the surrounding engravings begin to glow. Though the light was dim, he could feel a distinct change taking place.

...

David lost track of time, but eventually, his Blood reserves were depleted, and [Meditation] could no longer keep up with the Aether consumption, forcing him to stop midway. Retrieving the Berserk Giant’s body from his storage, he drained just enough Essence to replenish his Source in a single wave. The corpse disappeared back into storage as his Source moved rapidly, producing more Blood to use.

David froze, holding his breath as bloody shields, spears, and other armaments rose from the puddle surrounding him. A puddle of blood? He shot to his feet, unable to tear his gaze away as the armaments collapsed into nothingness.

“Is that my blood?” he asked, though he knew it couldn’t be. He didn’t feel weak—in fact, he felt incredible.

“You drained the Berserk Giant with that wave of yours,” Melach said, looking at him oddly. “Was that not planned?”

David’s lips parted, only to shut again just as quickly.

“What about that bloody presence of yours?” Zachariah interrupted, stepping closer. “Was that your Legacy Skill?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The Legacy Skill has nothing to do with bl—...” David’s words faltered as the memory of [Dao Comprehension]’s golden threads connecting to the Law of Blood resurfaced. His chest tightened.

Could that be it? His thoughts swirled with possibilities as he struggled to form a coherent response.

“I don’t know. The Legacy Skill can affect blood in some ways, though its main function doesn’t actually involve blood.” He considered staying vague for a moment but discarded the thought just as quickly. “I think I need to spend a lot more time meditating now. My new Skills are all related to meditating. Somehow, the Legacy Skill too, though I’m not entirely sure about that one yet.”

David smiled wryly and told Zachariah and the others about his new Class and powers, hoping they could explain a few things to him.

“Monk was compatible with Lifeweaver? I mean…I get it, but a compatibility rate above 95%?” Zachariah sounded flabbergasted, which was rare to see.

“Can you tell me something about the Class? I’d prefer a perfect training plan, but I’d also be fine if you just told me how to evolve Monk into a Unique Class,” David teased the regressor.

Zachariah winced in response. “Your Legacy Skill sounds interesting, but I’ve never heard of it. To be honest, I don’t know the details of many Classes. I was busy struggling to stay alive when the Earthen Union turned upside down, until they arrived.”

“They?” David asked, noticing the others looking up as well.

The regressor’s lips parted, but blood began dripping from his nose and eyes before a word escaped. Zachariah groaned and buckled over. David cast [Restore] and [Healing Light] immediately, but Zachariah’s condition didn’t improve until several minutes later.

“I get it. You cannot talk about them. Restrictions and that kind of thing.”

Zachariah looked apologetically at them, but David dismissed it with a wave. “You’ve already said more than enough.”

They had to be ready to face an enemy—beings the regressor wasn’t allowed to mention. Zachariah could talk about the gods, infernal gods, and even the Devils, but he couldn’t mention these beings? That didn’t bode well.

Still, it didn’t change their plan. They had to grow stronger. The faster, the better.