Chương 69: 1.4.03 - Aftershock

I saw Garrick lying down in one corner, eyes closed and barely conscious. I quickly bent down and sat him up slightly and ungagged him. I uncorked a vial of Basic Healing potion and fed it to him, and he started coughing as the potion dripped down his throat — unused to the strong taste that came with it.

"Drink, it'll help" I encouraged him while I tipped more of the potion into his mouth. I only took the time to inspect Garrick's condition closely while he drank the potion. He had bruises on his face, cuts on his lips already starting to scab over — probably inflicted by the men when they tortured him for information. There were some fresh cuts on his face and hands as well, and those were probably my fault, likely caused by the splinters from the shack when I blew the other two men apart.

Once Garrick ingested the potion, I could see it start to take effect as his previously erratic signal started to stabilize and grew slightly stronger. I sat him up and untied his hands and feet, before propping him up against the wall.

"Give me one minute old man, I just need to check something before we leave." I was not sure if he could hear me as his eyes were closed. But Garrick seemed to stir a little every time I spoke so I guessed that he was semi-conscious. I quickly went to what remained of the two bodies and checked the pockets for their coin pouches. No point letting good coin go to waste.

Unfortunately, I either destroyed or damaged their cores so much that they had completely degraded by the time I arrived — I could not sense any well of energy that normally came with a core that could be absorbed.

"Let's go old man, stay with me" I said as I put Garrick on my back, moving the satchel Mark II was in around to the front in the same motion. I made another sweep of the area with my Electrolocation, making sure no one was approaching our location. This spot was far enough away from the bandit camp that the sound from my fight with Jonas should not be audible. I started the slow trek back to town, balancing between speed and comfort for Garrick's sake.

The potion would only help temporarily, I still needed to get a healer soon to stabilize his condition. I got looks from the town guard when I got into town, but seeing that I was carrying an injured old man rather than a dead body, the guards did not do much. People got attacked by bandits all the time while out on the road, and carrying someone injured into town was not too uncommon.

It was already close to sundown by the time I arrived, and I did not want to leave Garrick by himself at his place while I went to look for a healer. I could not be sure that the three bandits were the only people who had targeted Garrick and myself so I decided to put him in the tavern frequented by adventurers instead. The very same tavern that Randell and the rest were staying at.

"Damian?" Annie called out when she saw me. She was seated at a table with the other two but was facing the tavern door so she saw me first. The rest quickly got up and approached me, only calming down once they ascertained that I looked fine. It was a good thing that they did not see the burns on my back, as those were still obscured by Garrick on my shoulders.

"We'll talk. Let me settle him first. Can one of you help me get a healer?"

"Let me do it, the healer who treated the subjugation party is still around" Waldo said and immediately left the tavern. I headed to the tavern keep to get a room with two beds, paying in advance for the full week along with three meals a day for one person. I winced as I put Garrick down, his shirt peeling off the skin on my burnt back. It did not take long before there was a knock on the door. I let the healer in and got him to treat Garrick first.

Besides the bruises and cuts, his most severe injuries were from the beating he took to his body. The healing potion had helped stabilize him a little and the healer did the rest. My injury was actually more difficult to treat. There were still lingering traces of fire mana on my wounds and they were resisting the treatment from the healer. While it would dissipate and heal eventually, I would need to deal with the pain on my back the entire time it was healing.

It was more convenient to get it treated since the healer was here — though the extra coin I had just acquired would be missed.

"How is he?" Waldo asked as I sat down at the table the party was seated at. I lowered myself slower than I meant to, new skin pulling tight across my back. They had moved to a corner away from the fire, wall behind them with both doors in view — likely Randell's idea. He had the knack for little things like that.

"He's fine now after the healer treated him. He's asleep, rest and food is what he needs now." I repeated what the healer said to me.

"So, care to explain how you came back with an old man strapped to your shoulders?" Randell did not look up when he asked. He was turning his mug in slow circles, leaving wet rings on the wood. That was worse than being shouted at. Now that the immediate danger was over, he was probably voicing his displeasure at me abandoning the team this morning. I thought for a bit, and decided to go with half-truths rather than any made-up lie. Randell would see through any poorly constructed stories.

"When I first came to Vesperia, I did not know many people. Garrick was one of the few that helped me when I was still trying to find my feet." I left out the part about reincarnating into this world at five years old, and left it at that.

"I needed to get some materials for an enchantment I was working on some time back. In my desperation, I urged him to bring me to a known black market nearby, or more like a camp where people from all walks of life gathered."

"We might have caught the attention of a few people when we left, as I was attacked after the last trip by two people who wanted to rob me. I killed the two bandits and took care of their bodies." I paused, looking for any sort of judgement on their faces. There was laughter coming from other tables around, filling in the silence my team left. When I did not see any reaction, I continued with my story.

"We had not been back to the camp since, but one of the people I killed had a brother — and he came looking for revenge. I had been with you three most of the time in the past weeks, so they probably kidnapped Garrick to lure me out. I managed to kill them and rescue Garrick, and here we are." Annie had her usual look of concern on her face. Waldo's face was impassive, as if he was pondering upon what I just said, whereas Randell had a frown on his face.

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"Do you remember one of the first things I said after the Sabertail Panther encounter?" Randell asked. I looked down in shame as I recalled the third lesson — asking your team for help.

"I thought this was my problem to solve as I created this mess. It was unfair to push it on the team. Besides, there was a mission you had to tend to at the same time." I countered. I got a knock on the head from Randell.

"That's what being a team means. We help each other in times of need. At least while you're still with us." Randell said, his expression softening.

"I'm glad you got out unscathed but you might not be so lucky all the time. Can you promise us that you'll tell us the next time there's a situation like that? Let us decide if we want to help or not." Randell continued with his chastising while gripping his mug tightly.

"I'm sure Damian understands," Annie jumped in to save me.

"I'm glad you came back with no issue."

"How did the mission go this morning?" I took the opening Annie gave me to change the topic, eager to hear how the rest of the team did.

"Hmmm, we didn't encounter any ants ourselves. But some other teams did encounter a few. They were mostly worker ants though so they were dispatched easily. The team that stayed back at the cavern also dispatched a few. I think we got most of them. Most importantly, none of the eggs got out so another mutated Queen appearing is unlikely." Waldo said while tearing apart some bread that the waitress just delivered.

"The guild will continue to send out patrols from time to time but the large scale expedition is over for now." Annie added.

"Yes, Lord Aldric also reminded me that you have yet to collect your reward from the scouting mission. You should pay Falden manor a visit soon. The rest of the payment for the expedition should be paid out soon." Randell said at last. When he loosened his grip on his mug, I could tell his anger had faded a little at the thought of more coin coming our way. The team chatted a bit more and we had dinner together afterwards. I retired to the room I rented for Garrick while the rest stayed for drinks.

Randell and Waldo were gesturing at each other with their eyes by the end of it, probably making plans to go to their favorite brothel without alerting Annie. I had chanced upon the Rising Skirts one day and realized what it was immediately when I saw, through the window, scantily dressed women sitting on patrons' laps. I stripped down to my undergarments and lay on the bed, not even bothering to wash down. The healer had already washed my wounds when he treated them and that was more than enough for me.

I let the wave of notifications that had been held back finally appear. ['Lightning Manipulation (Basic)' leveled up 4 -> 5] [You have increased your Mana Core Capacity by 500] [Your spell leveled up 'Lightning Bolt' Tier 2 Level 10 -> 'Chain Lightning' (Tier 3) - Level 1] [Your spell 'Lightning Bolt' has been upgraded to 'Chain Lightning'] [You have increased your Mana Core Capacity by 300] [You have absorbed a Human Yellow Core. You have increased your Mana Core Capacity by 500] [You have leveled up 10 -> 11]"Urgh, Chain Lightning. Why am I not surprised. Why can't the Weave use something cooler like Arc Lash, Storm Cascade, or Voltaic Whip?" I dismissed the notifications and pulled up my status through the Weave.

Status Core: Lightning Affinity (Perfect) Core Stage: Yellow Stage Level: 11 Mana Core Capacity (MCC) Progress to Next Level: 47/2, 500 Core Mutations: - Lightning Brain - Lightning Adaptation Spells: - Electrolocation (Tier 2) - Level 7 - Chain Lightning (Tier 3) - Level 1 - Lightning Infusion (Tier 1) - Level 10 - Lightning Manipulation (Basic) (Tier 1) - Level 5 Soul Mutations: - Adaptive Soul - Nature's Constitution - Myelin Insulation - Musculoskeletal Compaction Status Core: Lightning Affinity (Perfect) Core Stage: Yellow Stage Level: 11 Mana Core Capacity (MCC) Progress to Next Level: 47/2, 500 Core Mutations: - Lightning Brain - Lightning Adaptation Spells: - Electrolocation (Tier 2) - Level 7 - Chain Lightning (Tier 3) - Level 1 - Lightning Infusion (Tier 1) - Level 10 - Lightning Manipulation (Basic) (Tier 1) - Level 5 Soul Mutations: - Adaptive Soul - Nature's Constitution - Myelin Insulation - Musculoskeletal Compaction I focused on my new Tier 3 spell to pull up the description.

Chain Lightning: Discharges lightning mana that leaps between conductive anchor points and nearby targets, arcing along the path of least resistance to strike multiple targets in a single cast. Arc count, jump range, and redirection control scale with level. Chain Lightning: Discharges lightning mana that leaps between conductive anchor points and nearby targets, arcing along the path of least resistance to strike multiple targets in a single cast. Arc count, jump range, and redirection control scale with level.

My first Tier 3 spell. I finally managed to break through the wall that my Lightning Bolt was stuck at. This would provide another wave of growth as I leveled my new Tier 3 spell. Though I had a feeling in my gut it would take a lot more to level the Tier 3 spell. I closed the status window, letting sleep claim me. Drevan POV"Have you heard from Jonas yet?" Drevan asked as his lieutenant entered his tent. Jonas had told him that he should be reporting back tonight and should have some initial results.

"No Captain, I did not see Nadek or Paxus either. No one else in the camp had seen them." Tess confirmed after running her usual perimeter patrol and asking the usual camp residents.

"Could he have absconded?" Tess suggested.

"No I don't think so, he's not the kind. Though his brother going missing has affected him recently, he sees the bigger picture." Drevan said.

"He said he was hunting down a lead that could be a Vesperian agent looking into our camp. He might have come into direct contact with that agent..."

"There's a chance he might have been taken out..." Drevan said after thinking for a bit.

"Check all our safe houses, see if there have been any signs of usage recently and go from there. If Jonas was indeed taken out, we need to find out who this agent is. He could be a threat to our operations and upcoming mission."

"Yes sir. And if we identify who the agent was?" Tess asked for confirmation.

"Terminate with extreme prejudice. You're dismissed." Drevan said.

"Yes sir! I serve the Iron Emperor." Tess said in salute before leaving the tent.