Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 3B2 - Punch

The information streams of [Blood Patch] etched themselves onto David's mind. The process was quick, yet it felt faster than usual.

Gaining a new Class Skill was addictive. The surge of information entering his mind could be painful when overwhelming, yet David relished the feeling of growing stronger—of acquiring new powers to wield.

He jumped to his feet and approached Zachariah, who was busy removing the blood blade from his thigh. The blade fell to the ground and liquefied. However, David didn’t spare it a glance. Instead, he coated his fist in [Holy Touch] and punched the regressor before he could raise his guard.

A sickening crunch resounded as Zachariah crashed to the ground, satisfying David to no end.

“Do that again, and I will tear you apart from the inside out using the Law of Blood!” He growled, glaring at Zachariah, whose wide eyes seemed to scream, Why did you attack me?

Maybe Zachariah was stronger than him. The regressor could probably kill him easily. But that didn’t matter at this moment. He would give his utmost to take Zachariah down with him if he were to attack.

“Cut the crap and tell me when you start feeling better,” David added, pointing at the spot he had just struck. Zachariah was bleeding slightly, though he skillfully ignored it. What mattered more to David was the small, blood-colored teardrop now etched on his skin.

“Let’s see how good [Blood Patch] really is,” David muttered, stepping back.

He stored the corpses obstructing his path and tilted his head, noting the absence of any major changes. [Blood Patch] connected him to the target in a manner similar to [Equivalent Exchange], but it drained only a minuscule amount of Blood to remain active. As he continued retreating, the drainage increased by a trace. David barely felt the heightened consumption, though it was there.

“Used on multiple targets spread across a battlefield, this will be…” He scrunched his nose in displeasure.

Using this in the heat of battle would be challenging. He grumbled and cast [Holy Touch], attempting to channel it through [Blood Patch], but the attempt failed. The Skill didn’t meet the requirements.

David repeated the process with other Skills, methodically narrowing down which powers he could apply to Zachariah through the blood teardrop.

“It works. I feel something,” Zachariah said. David turned to see him standing, his posture steady despite the earlier blow. “Did you change something? I’m healing even faster now.”

“Blood and [Restore]… only healing it is, then.” David’s final attempt had been to channel Blood through [Blood Patch], pairing it with [Restore]. To his relief, it worked to a satisfactory degree. Blood and [Restore] functioned more efficiently together than if he had healed Zachariah by normal means.

Next, David replaced the dried carcasses. He stored the depleted bodies and retrieved preserved ones from his storage. Then, he tried to wield the Law of Blood directly, without uttering the Words of Power.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as a splitting headache crept into the back of his mind. He nearly collapsed from the effort.

Zachariah doesn’t have to waste so much time, he grumbled inwardly. The regressor always made it seem effortless. He saved time and energy by wielding Sword Intent without needing to fully activate the Law. Could David replicate that with the Law of Blood?

It would likely take immense time and effort to comprehend the Law deeply enough to achieve that.

David shrugged and restored his Blood reserves with a few Words of Power. While fewer words and less focus were needed now, the satisfaction from earlier was absent. He checked his status gloomily:

Name: David Stears

Primary Class: Lifeweaver

Secondary Class - [None]

Rank: Bronze V

Body:Lowest(-)(Intermediate)

Mind: Lowest(-)(Intermediate)

Soul: Lowest (Intermediate): 7 Droplets

[Laws]

[Law of Blood]: [Middle(Minor)]

[Class Skills]

[Weave of Life]: [Tier-2 III]

[Equivalent Exchange]: [Tier-2 II]

[Blood Patch]: [Tier-1 V]

[Skill Runes]

[Restore]: [Tier-1 X]

[Purify]: [Tier-1 III]

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[Holy Touch]: [Tier-1 XIV]

[Blessing]: [Tier-1 III]

[Blood Aegis]: [Tier-1 IV]

[Symphony Control]: [Tier-1 II]

Attribute Points: 4

Motivation surged as David noted how much his interface had improved. The changes were significant. His eyes lingered on the Attribute Points, and he licked his lips before willing them to enhance his Soul stat.

[Four Attribute Points have been used to enhance the User’s Soul.]

Lowest(Intermediate) → Low(+)(Intermediate)

Seconds passed, though he felt no immediate difference. Prepared for this, David closed his eyes. The mind space materialized, revealing the Source and the seven Blood droplets. Focusing on the improvements from his last Soul enhancement, he observed a thick membrane of translucent Aether swirling around the Source.

The Aether, drawn from the Energy Pathways, surged into the Source and revolved around the Blood droplets, merging with the crimson motes already present. The motes seeped into the droplets, nourishing them.

David smiled and opened his eyes, retrieving the remaining corpses that contained crimson motes. Words of Power rolled off his tongue effortlessly, activating the Law of Blood. The carcasses’ Essence was extracted in an instant.

Crimson motes emerged, swirling through the room before converging on David. He absorbed them in a single, seamless motion.

The Blood droplets in the Source expanded, though the changes seemed deceptively simple. David felt that improving his Soul not only enhanced their potency but also increased the Source’s production efficiency.

Would that be enough to supply all his Skills on the battlefield? He didn’t think so. However, he was certain it would help. The more he could do with his Blood, and the faster he could replenish it, the higher their survivability—and his power, of course. David smiled at the thought, recalling something Zachariah had mentioned on their way to the Orc Village.

“What Skill Slates should I try binding first?” he asked Zachariah. Since his Class was versatile, Zachariah believed it had a higher probability of being compatible with various Skill Slates.

More Skills would strengthen him. They would grant him more versatility in combat but also complicate…just about everything. David was all-in for complications.

“We can try a few things. I’m quite curious if you can bind and cast Magic Skills by replacing Mana with Blood. That’d be quite interesting to know,” Zachariah said, rubbing the spot where he had been hit earlier. “But you could also pick a superior Mage Class as your Secondary Class to form a second energy reservoir. Then again, the Mana Core may clash with the Source. The Lifeweaver Class and Mage Class probably aren’t compatible as Main and Secondary Classes.”

Zachariah waved dismissively. “Then again, I cannot see you as a Magician. A Magic Swordsman, maybe, but then you’re busy slaying enemies rather than protecting and healing your allies. That would be disastrous.”

David’s brows creased. What Secondary Class would suit him best? Throwing fireballs and causing mass destruction sounded like a nice hobby, but was that really what he needed to make the most of his existing powers? Was it not possible to amplify his current abilities with the Secondary Class?

He disliked not having a single attack Skill—not even the Law of Blood’s main purpose was to inflict damage—but his powers were excellent. If he could bind a few Skills of the Warrior Class, everything would be perfect.

“I’m not in a rush to pick my Secondary Class, am I?” David asked Zachariah, who shrugged.

“Not really. Take your time and go through your options when you have time. If you want to talk about your options, you can always come to me—or the others.” He gestured with his head to Torb and Melach. “They can probably help you decently too, though I consider myself more useful.”

Zachariah smiled at the elf and dwarf. “I’m just stating facts. No offense.”

David didn’t believe the regressor was entirely honest, though. He could read Zachariah’s body language well enough to sense his restlessness.

Still, the Secondary Class would have to wait.

David turned to Torb. “Do you want the corpses, Torb?” He pointed at the piles of corpses behind him. “If you take care of the bodies—all the bodies—you can keep ten…no, twenty percent of all profit.”

He couldn’t be bothered to return to his old finance job or anything related to finances. He’d been good at it, but fighting was far more interesting. So was training—growing stronger.

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Plus, the dwarf needed the money. And the help.

Torb’s worn-out expression seemed to brighten. His eyes lit up as he asked, “Are you serious?”

“Of course. Make sure you get a good price,” David said before turning to Zachariah. “As for you…Have you ever thought about building a Sanctuary from scratch? Torb here needs one to become Fortress’ Champion.”

“A Sanctuary? From scratch?” Zachariah’s exasperation gave way to sudden silence. He tilted his head, his gaze shifting to Torb as though something had clicked. “Fortress? He wants a Champion?”

Torb nodded, though his hair stood on end and he shuddered. David felt for the dwarf. Even he couldn’t always control his body when Zachariah stared intently at him. It was unnerving—the gaze of a man who had seen it all.

“That wouldn’t be too bad. The dwarves never had control of a Sanctuary, either. Not alone, at least. And if Fortress is willing to join the fight against the Descend…”

Zachariah groaned suddenly. His legs buckled, and blood spurted from his nose and eyes.

“You don’t have to tell us more,” David said in a hurry, casting [Restore] on his friend.

The regressor was a pain in the ass, and David had yet to forgive him for the earlier torture, but Zachariah was strong and knew quite a lot. He was a useful pain in the ass.

“I can’t. Even if I wanted to, I cannot talk more about some things,” Zachariah muttered, groaning as he pushed himself up from the ground. He wiped his face and forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

“The Descend?” Melach muttered, staring at the regressor.

David was also interested in the Descend, but he didn’t ask after seeing Zachariah’s condition. Maybe it was time to research again.

“Who cares about the Descend, or whatever it’s called,” Torb said, rushing past everyone. “There are valuable monster bodies that need to be sold as soon as possible!”

“Go for it. That’s your job, not mine,” Melach snapped. “Or are you going to give me half of your shares if I help you?”

Torb came to a sudden halt. He glared at the elf before returning to the corpses. No more words left the dwarf’s lips as he got to work.

The elf smiled, though it looked strained.

“What are we going to do now?” he asked.

David just shrugged. “Training and fighting, I guess.”

“Growing stronger…” Melach sighed.

“And you should call your family,” David added, making Melach flinch. “You can call them now that the Earthen Union is awakening, can’t you?”

“Yeah…I guess…”