Apocalypse Healer - B1 Chapter 3

His heart was beating wildly again. David had just fought the dead, got infected, and healed himself using magic. Maybe, if he put enough effort and holy power into it, David could mend his broken body properly.

All he had to do was to use [Cure Wounds] often enough. Probably.

That would be an extraordinary achievement. No. It would be much more than that. It would be miraculous, impossible…in the world he used to live.

However, the Earthen Union was not what it used to be. Everything had either changed already or was changing now.

Yet, despite all the trouble and the pain fueling his entire being, David’s eyes landed on a pair of sneakers. His clothes were ripped into shreds and drenched in both sweat and blood, but his naked feet troubled him nonetheless.

Am I weird for this?
 He chuckled but grimaced when a pang of pain assaulted him. 

He swallowed hard, used [Cure Wounds] again, and approached the pair of sneakers. They were torn and dirty but probably the best shoes he would find in this mess.

To think I would ever be happy about finding a pair of torn sneakers.

David had to mend his wounds and be in peak condition to survive whatever lay ahead of him. A pair of sneakers, albeit damaged, would do well enough to protect his feet. 

As [Cure Wounds] jumped into effect once again, the remaining energy within the Holy Sea dropped below half. However, his ribs weren’t hurting as much as before, and the throbbing pain in his head stopped. David wasn’t bleeding anymore, either.

The pain did not disappear entirely, but his situation had improved a lot.

[Proficiency of Cure Wounds increased.]

Beads of sweat poured down his forehead, yet David took several seconds to recognize that he’d broken into a cold sweat. But he didn’t feel too bad. In fact, David felt like he was on the verge of achieving something great. As if he was incredibly close to something, though he couldn’t decipher what that something was.

Suddenly, his mind turned blank for a moment. He took a deep breath as mental exhaustion assaulted him.

Did I overdo it? Is that my current limit? 

He crumbled inwardly. His Holy Sea was still half full – or half empty, depending on one’s point of view –meaning he should have no problem using his Skill Runes two, maybe three times.

The manual [Cleanse] used probably twice or three times as much holy power as the second one. Though it was probably worth it. Overclocking [Cleanse] helped me remove the Infection faster. It also activates much quicker than the automatic activation with a mental command. 

David made some quick calculations and decided that he could use [Cleanse] and [Cure Wounds] between six to eight times depending on how much holy power he used. However, that also meant his Holy Sea had to be filled to the brim to use his Skill Runes that often.

How do I refill you, then? 

David had no clue how to actively refill the Holy Sea. The only advantage he’d discovered was that the Holy Sea seemed to replenish the used-up holy power passively. He didn’t have to do anything if he could accept that his Holy Sea needed hours to be full again.

I can figure out something later. For now…
 David turned around to see Infected coming his way. He didn’t know the Infected or who they had once been, but it wouldn’t have changed anything even if he’d known them. They were dead, Infected, and were after his life.

David lowered his body slowly and reached for the stone covered in brain mass. He’d much rather pick up another stone or search for a loose metal bar lying around, a mace, or even better: a spear, glaive, or something along those lines. Unfortunately, David wasn’t given the luxury to search the ruins of the building complex he’d once called his home.

One of the Infected was already close by. It wasn’t agile by any means, but David couldn’t discern a path of escape. The Infected around him inched closer and would capture him if he moved in their direction.

Broken walls blocked two directions, forcing him to face the Infected, even if that meant he would be infected.

David expected himself to panic in a situation like that. Everyone would be like that. However, his mind was oddly calm as he weighed his chances. A quarter of a second was everything David needed to make a decision.

He grasped the stone tightly and dashed to the closest Infected. His body screamed in pain, telling him to slow down and rest until he’d recovered, but his condition was already a lot better than before. David pushed the pain aside, gritted his teeth, and appeared before the Infected. Suddenly, the Infected accelerated. Or was David too slow to note the Infected’s sudden movement?

David’s vision blurred for a moment, his body felt like bursting apart from a sudden wave of pain overwhelming him, and the Infected’s hands shot forward, reaching him in a moment of weakness.

The creature’s hands swept across his skin, scratching him deeply

[You have been infected.]

He would have loved to evade the Infected’s initial attack, but David had to get creative since that didn’t work out. He used the accumulated momentum and ignored the rapidly increasing threat to his life as he raised his arm. A moment later, the Infected’s face inching closer to his neck, ready to tear him apart, David’s hand shot down, smashing hard on the Infected’s head, perfectly hitting the spot he’d wanted to reach.

A loud cracking noise resounded. It rang through David’s ear like a sonorous melody even as the stone in his hand cracked. It may have been luck, great fortune bestowed upon David, but the stone cracked open after crushing the Infected’s skull, creating the opening he needed to lift his arm to thrust out again. 

Time seemed to come to a crawl as everything around him happened simultaneously. It almost felt like time had slowed to show David what was happening in his last living moments. But David was not going to die. He was unwilling to give up like that.

The Infected from behind inched closer. It was only a matter of seconds before they would reach him, their foul scent filling the air, breathing down David’s neck to feast on his blood and flesh. However, nothing shook him at this moment. He remained eerily calm and focused on the enemy ahead first. If the Infected before him survived, he would be dead either way.

Die!!
 David screamed in his mind as the cracked stone passed neatly through the Infected’s crushed skull, squashing the creature’s brain in one go.

[You have defeated an Infected(Common).]

David didn’t bother pulling the stone out of the Infected’s skull. The Infected collapsed dead – truly dead – to the ground while his body continued screaming at him. The screams intensified as David pushed through the rubble. He reached the surface but wasn’t granted a moment to bask in the morning sun.

David was forced to sprint, evading the other Infected by a hair’s breadth as he moved through the uneven rubble.

Just like zombies in the shows and movies.
 He made a mental note from his short bout with the undead creatures. The Infected behind him groaned and hissed, but they were too slow to keep up with him.

Unfortunately, his struggle didn’t end even after he escaped the encirclement. The commotion attracted the attention of other Infected. 

They appeared out of nowhere. The once-quiet building ruins transformed into a cacophony of snarls and hisses. Some Infected shoved rubble aside to pursue David, while others were still stuck. 

Unfortunately - only for them, of course - only a few Infected could move naturally. Most Infected’s bodies had been crushed when the building collapsed. 

Even if the dead couldn’t feel any pain, they couldn’t move in broken bodies. If their legs were crushed beyond repair, they could only walk slowly or not at all.

That was David’s greatest fortune. He discovered a few Infected in his path of escape but rushed straight past a pair when he noticed that they moved even slower than the average Infected.

He ran for a few minutes, flicking his head left and right to search for a safe spot with little to no Infected, and assess the situation. Of course, he didn’t forget the infection.

[Cleanse]!

Holy power left his energy reservoir again, leaving barely enough for two more uses of his Skill Runes. Maybe he could replenish enough holy power for a third use in twenty minutes, but David wasn’t certain. However, what he could tell for certain, was that the holy power coursing through his veins had mending properties. Even if he didn’t use [Cure Wounds], David felt better as holy power fueled him.

[Infection has been cleansed.]

[Proficiency of Cleanse increased.]

The cleansing process was the same as before but wasn’t as mentally taxing as before.

Am I getting used to this already, or was the Infection not that bad? There were only a few superficial scratches…

One way or another, it was beneficial, just like the notification that popped up a moment later.

[Your Rank increased by one..]
 [Iron I] → [Iron II]

[One Attribute Point has been added]

A burst of vigor filled David, easing some of his mental and physical exhaustion. Simultaneously, the burst of vigor reached his Holy Sea. It didn’t enter or replenish the Holy Sea but accelerated its recovery rate instead.

The energy within the Holy Sea rippled and stirred, pushing the Holy Sea to work faster.

Even though David had little understanding of the situation, he considered it a stroke of fortune.

This feels like a game. You level up and grow stronger, only to fight stronger enemies. The only downside is the lack of a respawn point. Death is permanent, except for the Infected. Well, they’re still dead, but in a different sense.

David looked around and noticed no Infected nearby. Some Infected crawled out of a destroyed skyscraper, but they were too far to notice him. He felt like sitting down to rest for a while, and maybe David would have done that if he hadn’t been unarmed in a world full of undead creatures trying to eat him alive.

David started searching for a useful weapon. A metal rod would be best, but he wouldn’t complain about finding some jagged stones. While walking across a concrete street that couldn’t have looked any worse, David was graced with the first moments of silence. Everything had been hectic until it came to a sudden halt now that he was in a safe area if something like that still existed in the first place.

Was the earthquake only in this area, or did it happen all over the Earthen Union? If it’s the latter…what happened to my parents? My family and friends? 

David didn’t like thinking about it, but he would have to accept the bitter reality whether he wanted it or not.

He retrieved his phone or tried to, when he realized that it was not with him anymore. 

I must have lost it when I fell.

Calling his family and friends would have been great, but David realized that it wasn’t feasible.

Even if I had my phone with me, I doubt the network still works. 

He cursed inwardly and kicked a small stone in a fit of rage. Unfortunately, the turmoil of emotions raging within him didn’t help anyone. If anything, it would push David toward stupid decisions, something he couldn’t afford to make right now.

“Dad is a fighter. He won’t die that easily,” He reminded himself, “And he will never allow anyone or anything to kill Mom either. They will be fine.”

At least, that was what he sincerely hoped.

No matter how much they had tortured him with their acts and attitude, David didn’t want them to die.