Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 73B1 - Blessing of the World

He told the Artificer everything she needed to know.

David didn’t leave out many details, but he doubted she cared about his life before the integration. That was why he focused on the Lifeweaver Class—his ability to sense and see crimson motes even before his Class promotion, his soulbound weapon and its capabilities, and how he came to possess the Lifeweaver Class, which granted him access to the Law of Blood.

Storytelling was not his forte, but David felt like the Artificer was listening intently. She asked questions now and then, prolonging their conversation until the afternoon. Usually, he would have considered hours of chatting a waste of time, but this time was different. He responded to her questions with simple answers and followed up with his own inquiries.

“I can help you. No. I won’t just help you—I’ll give you a good discount and even purchase the materials needed,” the Tirac declared near the end. “Don’t get me wrong. It will still be expensive. Very expensive. But if you come to my workshop daily for some experiments, it should be possible to create a Blood reservoir of decent size.”

To David, that sounded nice—just like everything else the Artificer had explained so far.

Becoming an Artificer as a Secondary Class didn’t seem too bad, David thought. He wondered about the limits of the Artificer Class and what other Classes he could pick. Since he was already at the Bronze Rank, his Secondary Class slot wasn’t sealed anymore. However, he doubted many at Bronze Rank had made their pick yet. Melach and Torb certainly hadn’t—or, if they had, David couldn’t sense the changes in their Life.

He pushed aside the doubts swirling in his mind and focused on the situation ahead. His feet carried him outside the watchtower as his thoughts raced to find the perfect way to earn money. Whatever he chose couldn’t slow his progress. If anything, it had to accelerate it—strengthening his Skill Runes and improving his Rank at the same time.

The answer didn’t come to him right away, but a smile tugged at his lips when it finally did.

David had to start a part-time job.

***

Providing his service to Arc had been surprisingly simple. David had expected a hassle, but the Familia’s receptionists eagerly extended their help when they heard his proposal. They seemed almost too enthusiastic, providing him with a spacious room in the Familia’s building and even assigning him a personal secretary to assist as needed.

David didn’t necessarily need all that, but he wasn’t about to turn down free help. To him, their enthusiasm seemed excessive, bordering on suspicion. Still, he shrugged it off, reasoning that his status as Arc’s Savior and the service—including the pricing he had submitted—were the primary reasons for their joy. That was the story David decided to believe until proven otherwise. And nothing in the following days suggested otherwise.

Starting a new job sounded like a hassle, but it wasn’t as bad as David had feared. He spent his first few hours studying some books in his large practice room until his secretary informed him that the first group of patients had arrived. David treated them swiftly and instructed them to rest for a minute or two before leaving. Meanwhile, he resumed his studies, waiting for the next group of patients to arrive.

News of his service must have spread like wildfire after treating the first group. Or perhaps it was because most injured Protectors preferred buying potions from the Familia over seeking expensive Clerics and healers. They would rather endure the side effects of consuming too many potions than pay the equivalent of a dozen potions for treatment from a Cleric.

But David’s pricing was different. While his healing service wasn’t as cheap as a single potion, his potent Skill Runes allowed him to save lives hanging by a thread. He treated his patients for minimal cost—cleansing them for spare change and casting [Restore] and [Weave of Life] for a fair price. Combined with the number of patients he could treat at once, it was no wonder his service gained popularity overnight.

***

The following days felt like a blur.

David received several complaints from other healers whose patients switched to his more affordable service. Fortunately, the Familia stood by him. It took him a few days to notice the tension between the Familia and the Healer’s organization—an entity he had only recently learned about—but it explained a lot. His secretary mentioned that the Familia was fed up with the Healer’s organization’s steep pricing, which they had endured for years. Until David arrived.

His arrival didn’t change much in the other Sanctuaries, especially those outside the Earthen Union, but it changed everything in Arc. And that was enough to stir trouble.

David was grateful for the Familia’s support. It allowed him to focus on honing his Skill Runes, studying, and tending to his clients.

Of course, working as a healer didn’t change his approach to dangerous missions. Though his focus had momentarily shifted to healing, researching, and studying with Melach, he still ventured out of the Sanctuary with the elf and Torb.

Combat experience remained essential in David’s mind—a necessity for his future plans to carve a path through the Wilderness.

One of his main goals was to search for his family, including William, Basti, and his other friends, to learn about their whereabouts and well-being. Then again, some might no longer be in the Earthen Union. Their hometown had been replaced by one of the Pantheon’s regions, but that didn’t deter David.

He had to know the truth.

Last but not least was Torb and his Champion mission. The dwarf seemed to be doing better—at least, that’s what David thought whenever he saw him. Torb still focused on earning money, but his attention had shifted to studying books on creating and maintaining Sanctuaries. Apparently, Melach had encouraged him to socialize with other Protectors and Familia members as well.

That made sense in David’s opinion. After all, a Sanctuary wasn’t just built with money—it required manpower and protection.

Power. That was something they needed for everything. It was crucial. It was why David never stopped balancing the time he spent on culling missions and healing others—to grow stronger in the Lifeweaver’s way.

And it seemed to be working. Only a few days had passed, yet his interface had changed significantly again.

Name: David Stears

Primary Class: Lifeweaver

Secondary Class - [None]

Rank: Bronze IV

Body:Lowest(-)(Intermediate)

Mind: Lowest(-)(Intermediate)

Soul: Lowest(-)(Intermediate): 5 Droplets

[Laws]

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

[Class Skills]

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

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

[Equivalent Exchange]: [Tier-2 II]

[Skill Runes]

[Restore]: [Tier-1 VIII]

[Purify]: [Tier-1 II]

[Holy Touch]: [Tier-1 XIII]

[Blessing]: [Tier-1 II]

[Blood Aegis]: [Tier-1 III]

[Symphony Control]: [Tier-1 II]

Attribute Points: 1

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

His greatest achievements were creating the fifth Droplet and pushing both Mind and Soul to Intermediate. However, the progress in his Skill Runes also filled David with pride. Every improvement, no matter how small, reflected his effort and the time he’d invested.

But, naturally, the inspection of his interface was interrupted.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway, followed by his secretary’s shouting. A moment later, the door to his practice room was ripped from its hinges. The wooden door shattered, its fragments flying everywhere. David conjured a small crimson shield to deflect the debris, though it posed little threat to him.

A metallic scent hit his nose, but there was something more—an oddly sour undertone. His eyes darted to a human figure as his senses picked up the imminent sensation of death lingering over it. The Life within the figure was faint, almost nonexistent.

“Help me,” a weak but familiar voice called.

Not even a second later, the blood-soaked figure collapsed to the ground.

“Zachariah?” David’s heart pounded. Zachariah hadn’t visited him since their chat in the Familia’s prison cell, and now he looked barely clinging to life.

Purple veins coursed through his body, and the snippets of skin not smeared with blood had turned yellowish-green. Acting swiftly, David cast and overclocked [Weave of Life], stabilizing Zachariah’s condition as he hurried to examine the dying man.

“Weak pulse and bloodshot eyes,” he murmured to himself. “Cuts made from a sharp weapon all over his body. Likely laced with venom. He’s also covered in bite marks, and… his weapon is missing.”

David wasn’t foolish enough to believe he was stronger than Zachariah. The regressor could kill him with ease. And that was the problem.

What—or who—was strong enough to do this to him?

Zachariah looked worse than David had after his struggle with the Demon Horde.

David cast and overclocked [Purify], [Blessing], and [Restore] before channeling [Holy Touch] into Zachariah’s body.

“You should be thankful I didn’t use everything to treat my patients,” David muttered, trying to mask his confusion and worry.

Zachariah stirred, groaning as he tried to get up, but his trembling arms gave out. His body crashed back to the ground, reopening his mended wounds.

“Stop moving. You already look like shit, and I don’t feel like watching you die,” David said.

Zachariah ignored him and turned onto his back. “I sure feel like shit,” he muttered before his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

***

David tended to Zachariah’s wounds for the next few hours. He used more Blood than expected, but the monster corpses he’d collected in recent days came in handy. He replenished enough Blood to remove the dozen types of venom and poison tormenting Zachariah.

It was unclear how long Zachariah had been in this condition or how his body had endured it, but somehow, the regressor was still alive.

Finally, late at night, Zachariah regained consciousness.

“Thanks,” he mumbled weakly.

“You better tell me what happened,” David demanded curtly.

A faint sigh escaped Zachariah. “I would... but I don’t know.”

A regressor with no plan? That was bad. Really bad.

“What do you mean?”

Zachariah sat up and looked around. “You brought me to your room? That’s nice.”

“Don’t avoid my question.”

“Okay, okay…” Zachariah relented. “You want to know what happened? I don’t fucking know. Too much has changed. The Pandemonium’s Devil and their Infernal Gods are already here. Not literally,

of course, but their cults and subjects. I have no idea how they bypassed the Pantheon’s security, but they did it anyway.”

He gritted his teeth and looked like he hated being the bearer of bad news, but David could do little with Zachariah’s intel.

He’d already checked the Familia’s library twice after his first chat with Zachariah in the prison cell, but there had been no information on other organizations ruled by transcendent beings. To be precise, there was no mention of powerful beings outside the Pantheon—not even lone wolves like Bereth.

Since Zachariah was his only source of intel and the Pantheon seemed intent on hiding knowledge of other organizations, David’s understanding of the Pandemonium remained poor. Even worse, the regressor couldn’t share everything, as bursts of pain cut him off whenever he tried to speak about forbidden topics.

Still, Devils and Infernal Gods were not entities David wanted to encounter anytime soon.

“They reached the Earthen Union too early. It wasn’t like this before. The Pantheon was supposed to maintain control much longer. Like… a LOT longer.”

It wasn’t enough to confirm David’s fears, but it pointed in that direction.

“Can they remember what happened?” he guessed, watching Zachariah’s every move.

“No–...” Zachariah stopped, his eyes narrowing to tiny slits. He tapped the blanket a few times, then pulled it aside and jumped to his feet. “Maybe? I—I don’t know. I was just told…”

Zachariah cursed, punching a hole in the wall beside the bed. “They fucking tricked me! This was never about saving everyone!”

Suddenly, silver streaks erupted from Zachariah, dazzling like streams of stars. They flung in all directions, slicing through the bed and walls with terrifying ease. David felt the weight in the room increase drastically and stepped back, his heart skipping a beat as one of the silver streams reached him. It cut deep into his flesh, seemingly without any resistance.

“I don’t think you can control—whatever this is–...”

“Fuck this shit!” Zachariah interrupted, cursing again. “They’re planning to change the Earthen Union’s fate. They–used me to change everything!!”

“Not everything,” David interjected as the silver streams started cutting into Zachariah’s flesh. “You said the Common Rifts were always supposed to arrive. That the Demon Horde was there last time as well. That didn’t change!”

Zachariah turned to him, his expression eerily cold. David was almost certain Zachariah would cut him down if he said another word.

But the silver streaks diminished until they dispersed. Zachariah’s expression eased slightly, though only barely. “The Mistwalker was still there, too. Everything else I had up to my sleeves until the Mistwalker’s death was okay…”

His expression soured as he looked at David. “But the allies I had in the past are dead. Some of them, at least. And my enemies…my enemies joined forces with Infernal Gods long before they should have met. I can accept some of them, but others?” He cursed again. “I couldn’t even kill the Venomancer…”

David barely caught his whisper. “How did he grow so strong?”

David approached Zachariah and patted his back. Although he didn’t consider himself good at consoling others, he tried.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright,” he said with a smile, hoping it looked encouraging. “It will be fine as long as we keep growing stronger. There is nothing to worry about!”

David felt the floor tremor subtly as the last words left his lips. He wouldn’t have paid any attention to it if the tremors had receded after a moment. However, they intensified instead.

A thunderous explosion followed within seconds. David and Zachariah rushed to the window to see several buildings, including the watchtower, collapsing.

Then came the flood of Aether. At first, it wasn’t apparent, but David noticed it when Zachariah froze. The regressor turned pale as though he had been drained of every drop of blood in an instant.

David’s attention shifted to the Aether around him. He shouldn’t have been able to perceive it or even recognize what it was, yet he knew. The knowledge came unbidden as if it had always been there but out of his reach.

He had vague memories of encountering traces of Aether before, but those moments paled compared to the phenomenon he witnessed now. Aether was everywhere—dense and highly purified.

David could see it. Feel it. Grasp it.

“No, no, no! Too early. It’s too early!!” Zachariah muttered, disbelief thick in his voice. “I…I didn’t have enough time.”

David wasn’t sure what was happening at first. The inn trembled worse than before, and it seemed inevitable that it would join the rows of buildings that had already collapsed.

His mind raced, searching for answers, but no logical solution came to him. He had no idea what was happening. But it appeared the System did. A golden notification with intricate letters and symbols popped up before his eyes.

“They did not just do that…” Zachariah’s voice almost broke as he whispered, “My plans…”

[The Earthen Union is awakening. ‘Blessing of the World’ has been granted to all current residents.

Enjoy the otherworldly experience for the next seven days. It may be your last.]

David barely registered Zachariah’s words after the notification appeared. His attention shifted to another notification that materialized once he finished reading the golden one.

[Blessing of the World: External sources of Aether, Essence, and other energies keep entering the Earthen Union, completing the final steps of the awakening even as the World Awakening has commenced. Areas with excessive Aether and Essence will form, allowing an increased growth rate. Independent Rifts will come into existence, natural treasures of all kinds will form in the surrounding lands, and the probability of Drops generating will increase drastically.]

David swallowed hard, but he felt an iron-tight grasp on his arm. Oddly enough, it steadied him, offering unexpected warmth.

“I need your help,” Zachariah said firmly, his words ringing in David’s ears. The regressor’s face remained pale, but his eyes burned with steely determination.

“I need your help.”

David was still trying to process everything that had happened—from Zachariah’s sudden arrival to the golden notification. His stomach churned uneasily.

“Does it include fighting?” he asked with a wry smile, his heart pounding in his chest.

“A lot.”

That was it. Maybe this was exactly what David needed. The world was about to turn upside down again, but if the last few weeks had taught him anything, it was that he would be fine—and free—as long as he had the strength to remove the obstacles in his path.

It didn’t matter if those obstacles were magical creatures, humans, or even gods.

All he needed was the strength to face them.

“I’m in.”

[End of Volume 1]