Apocalypse Healer - B1 Chapter 6

They were at an impasse. Sebastian wasn’t listening to him, and David had no idea what else to say or do to prove that he wasn’t Infected. 

“This is getting nowhere,” David mumbled, cleared his throat, and added louder, “Look at my wounds and tell me whether I’m infected or not.” 

He was slowly losing patience. There was no need to stay longer if they didn’t want his help. 

To the Mage girl’s greatest fortune, David didn’t have to leave. Hunter Jack returned from checking the surroundings, his attention lingering on the girl.

“There are Infected down the street to our left. Close to three dozen, if I'm not mistaken,” He announced, “Let’s leave.”

Jack only noticed the tension hanging in the air after the last word escaped his lips.

He looked at David briefly but didn’t pay much attention to him. Instead, he frowned deeply at Sebastian. 

“What are you doing, Sebastian?”

Sebastian grunted, “That guy is injured. There is a bite mark and scratches. He is infected!”

I am not,” David retorted, curses forming in his mind.

What a fucking idiot. I thought it was just a dumb cliché, but that fool is a musclehead. Brawn but no brain…

Jack nodded slowly, his pupils dilating as his sharp eyes flicked from one wound to the next. 

“You are right, Sebastian,” He agreed with the Warrior’s analysis, but his eyes glimmered as if hope blossomed in them.

He raised his hand to stop the Warrior before he could do anything stupid, “But only about his injuries. He was injured, probably by an Infected, but he isn’t infected. Can’t you tell? Flora is lying right next to you. Look at her wound and what the infection does to her and then compare it to…him.”

Jack turned to David, his eyebrows rising slowly, “You are not infected, but you… “

“I was infected, yes. But I picked the Cleric Class and healed myself.” David confirmed.

Sebastian’s eyes lit up for a moment, but he remained tense.

“I am okay with leaving her to die, Sebastian,” David said coldly, “I’m merely telling you that saving her is no problem for me. I healed myself multiple times, or I would be like those rotting Infected. Dead.”

Jack walked up to Sebastian and pulled him back. Or tried to.

“Just let him help her. She will die if we leave her like this. Let’s not sacrifice her like that. Or do you want to regret–...”

Sebastian glared dagger at Jack and shoved him to the side, “Don’t even think about gaslighting me, you piece of rubber.”

He got up and made space for David while Jack shrugged.

David approached the little Mage girl and bent down. He studied her for a moment and pressed his hand over her wound. Maybe that wasn’t necessary, but David had to make sure not to waste any holy power.

[Cleanse]!

At first, David’s hand started glowing. A dim glow pulsed through his skin until it burst through his pores, coating his palm in a faint but pristine light. Using [Cleanse] on someone else felt weird. Different.

It was almost like he invaded the Mage’s body to fight a battle. A battle she was clearly losing.

The pristine line gushing out of his pores intensified, but David barely noticed that. His attention lingered on the Mage, whose complexion improved as his power entered her body.

A few silent seconds passed before David got up.

“Will she be fine?” Sebastian asked, without even looking at David. His eyes remained on Flora. 

But David wasn’t listening. He looked at a bunch of interfaces.

[Patient’s Infection has been cleansed.]

[Proficiency of Cleanse increased.]

[Proficiency of Cleanse reached 100%.]
 [Tier-0 I] → [Tier-0 II]

David wasn’t surprised by the rank-up of [Cleanse] but was slightly disappointed that he didn’t receive anything. His expression soured briefly, but a smile crept on his face when a strand of information entered his mind. It joined the remaining information of [Cleanse], which had been squeezed into his mind.

So, that’s how it is? I should be able to use [Cleanse] more efficiently now. But what does that entail?

He had a few theories, including the possibility of using [Cleanse] at the same level as before with less holy power and that the holy power entering the Skill Rune would be converted more efficiently, improving [Cleanse]’s potency, or that he could activate it more easily. It might also be a mix of everything, given the clues he’d acquired from the strand of information.

Digesting the intel would take a while, especially with the Skill Runes’ information in his mind. David didn’t have the luxury to digest everything yet.

“Thanks…” Sebastian murmured after checking on the Mage girl. The infection was gone, just like David had said. He fixed her, “And sorry.”

David waved his hand dismissively.

The girl stirred again, and her eyes shot open. She gasped for air, a tear of joy trickling down her cheeks.

Flora was certain she would never wake up again. That the infection would kill her and that the Grim Reaper would sever her connection to the world of the living. She bawled her eyes out, thinking her time was over and that her body would resurrect and roam the Earthen Union as an undead.

Sebastian put his longsword aside and embraced Flora. He consoled her and reassured them everything would be fine. The brawny warrior explained the situation, calming Flora while David’s eyes lingered on the longsword. His attention drifted to the wooden staff lying next to Flora and the bow and quiver Jack carried.

“How did you guys obtain these weapons?” David asked, his attention drifting to the baseball bat.

Maybe they were lucky and received them as drops? That would explain the weapons’ flawless appearance. They look like they’ve never been used before.

Jack pulled an arrow out of a dead Infected’s eyes and tilted his head.

“Did you not receive anything?” He asked, “The weapons appeared after we picked our Classes.”

That…

David’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits.

“Fuck this shit! Even this fucking world-ending event is scamming me!” He growled while Jack accelerated his steps. He retrieved all the arrows and returned to the others.

“We have to leave. The Infected should be close by.

David ignored Jack and headed to the baseball bat, “I can have that, right?”

Sebastian looked up and nodded without a second thought, “Take it. You deserve it.”

David didn’t waste any time and picked the bat up. The bat was slightly shorter than his arm, but it was thicker and heavier than the average baseball bat. David didn’t recognize the material used to make the bat, but it was some sort of dark wood.

He swung it a few times and nodded in satisfaction.

Even though the stones were great, this is much better. 

“Guys…” Jack grumbled, “The Infected are on their way!?” 

“Are you asking us or telling us?” David couldn’t help but respond. Jack glared at him, but Sebastian moved. He grasped his longsword with one hand and lifted Flora from the ground with the other hand.

“How about we kill the Infected?” David proposed suddenly, “There might be three dozen Infected, but they’re slow – most of them, at least – and we can eliminate half a dozen or more before they reach us. Sebastian can cut through them easily, and I am not too bad when it comes to thrashing walking corpses, either. I think we can make it work as long as we work together. Even if we’re getting scratched, I can cleanse the infection.” 

Jack looked at him like someone had taken a shit in front of him, but it was Sebastian who answered.

“Normally, I would agree, but Flora’s mana reserves are empty, and I’m running out of Stamina. Using [Slash] and [Parry] close to a dozen times drained me,” He explained, “Don’t get me wrong. I can still keep going, but fighting thirty or more Infected when it’s not necessary is just wrong.”

To think the musclehead would lecture me. I still don’t get the issue. We don’t need Flora for this. You and Jack can deal with a dozen Infected while I care for the rest…Just…let me fight…

David’s eyes widened slightly at his own thoughts. His heart had stopped beating wildly, and he wanted to return that sensation.

Am I getting addicted to this? Already? 

He scoffed, which the others must have misinterpreted, but David finally nodded.

“You’re right,” He agreed, “But you guys don’t have any food, right?” 

They shook their heads slowly, which brought a smile to David’s lips.

“In that case, we should return to the supermarket once everyone is ready!”

He didn’t care about the gazes lingering on him or what they thought of him. The thought of fighting the Infected en masse excited him.

Maybe we can find something stronger soon. One of the Infected was stronger than the rest. Maybe they’re getting stronger.

That would be terrifying but also exciting. David licked his lips.

“Whatever. Let’s leave!” Jack said, not paying much attention to David’s attics, “I guess you're coming with us, aren’t you?”

“As long as it’s fine with everyone.” 

Nobody said anything. The voting was unanimous. 

Jack’s eyes flicked left and right, studying the streets in all directions before his attention landed on the shopping center’s entrance. 

“How about some more shopping?” He asked, jogging to the entrance. Jack didn’t even wait for the others. He entered the shopping center and disappeared. 

“I hate this guy,” Sebastian grumbled but followed inside the shopping center, not forgetting to help Flora, who was having difficulty keeping up with the rest.

David glanced to the left, where he found the group of Infected Jack sighted earlier. They weren’t close yet, but the group headed in their direction. 

He sighed and followed the trio inside the shopping center.

“Silent,” Jack’s calm voice rang out when David entered the shopping center. It was only dimly illuminated by the morning sun shining through the windows near the ceiling, but that was enough to discover a lone Infected.

Did he lose his group? Sorry, mate, but your colleagues are dead. Like dead dead. 

There shouldn’t have been people in the shopping center. It was closed the day before and hadn’t been close to the opening hours when the world turned upside down. Maybe that was why Jack returned to the shopping center. 

Whatever.

David wasn’t going to avoid a single Infected. His heart rate accelerated again, and he rushed forward, ignoring Jack’s whispered outcry. The Infected turned to David and snarled, but all that followed was a loud crunch when the heavy baseball bat crushed the Infected’s skull and brain in one go.

[You have defeated an Infected(Common).]

That was easier than expected.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jack hissed, appearing beside David. He grasped David’s arm with some force and pulled him back.

“I removed the obstacle,” David responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

“By being a bulldozer, or what?! Do you want to bait all Infected in the building??” 

David’s expression turned ice-cold, his eyes trained on Jack’s arm holding him.

“First of all, you better let go of me.”

Jack’s hair stood at its end, and he instinctively let go of David.

“Second, you and your friends have attracted more than enough Infected already. I have no clue what you guys have been doing in the shopping center, but I’m fairly sure it should have been empty this morning. Furthermore, your clothes are stolen. You forgot to remove the price tag.”

Jack looked at the back of his shirt and cursed when the price tag peaked out, “So what?!”

“So what? Nothing. Really. It’s just that – since the shopping center was early this morning –, you and your friends must have lured the Infected into the shopping center. That said, I doubt there are any more Infected in the shopping center since they’ve been pursuing you guys. Of course, that is only my guess. There might as well be other survivors in the shopping center, and they lured the Infected inside, but given your expression, I can tell that my theory is correct.”

David shrugged lightly.

“It’s not too important, either way. I don’t care too much. I will also take some stuff from the shopping center. Some new clothes to switch out of my old clothes drenched in a mixture of blood and sweat and a bag, I guess,” David sighed softly.

“The point is that you guys were loud enough to pull all Infected out of the shopping center. Our discussion is probably louder and worse than smashing the Infected’s head.”

Jack’s head turned red. He was fuming. Not because David put them in danger. It wasn’t even because he exposed Jack within seconds. Everything David said had been correct. They trespassed and entered the empty shopping center, stole some clothes, and joked around, saying that the entire shopping center was their territory. The Infected heard them outside and entered the shopping center, starting the pursuit.

But it wasn't David’s quick deduction that irked Jack.

No. What enraged Jack was that the newcomer disobeyed his command.