Chapter 412 - A Yellow and Black Plague VI (Patreon)

My idea of a break was to fly all the way to the city walls, flip over so I hit them feet-first, then push off them to launch myself in a new direction. Like a swimmer. Maybe a breath or two of respite, a moment that I didn’t need to look at three dozen different people, and decide which eight were going to be healed, and who could wait.

I shot off across the town, continuing to trail and rain tiny healing butterflies across the city. Each one filled me with satisfaction, another person cured, another life saved. Each one broke my heart, at the three, four, five people I’d decided weren’t critical enough at this very moment to need my attention.

I wasn’t leaving them. I wasn’t abandoning them. Just… there were other people to see, people that were higher priority, who needed me more.

I was only one person. An incredibly powerful person, who could try to single-handedly fight an entire city’s worth of disease, but one person. I had limits.

I hated saying it. I didn’t want limits when it came to helping people. Limits, when those limits meant ‘yeah people are going to die’ sucked.

[*ding!* [Companion Bond between Elaine and Auri] leveled up! 458 -> 459]

I was fairly certain that one was me, although I wasn’t going to discount Auri getting into more productive mischief. I turned off notifications. I’d see what I got at the end of this.

I flew back over the town’s central square, sure that I’d need to fix up a half-dozen guards. I hoped Iona had been relatively gentle beating them up.

To my shock and surprise, they were all standing in a circle, animatedly talking with each other. Weapons were still in hands, but lowered, Iona was still in her armor, but skills weren’t flying all over the place and there weren’t broken bodies lying around the square.

I sent a single butterfly on a track to Iona’s nose, a little gesture to let her know I’d been here and was supporting her. Then I was off, deeper into the night.

Path after path, track after track, I crisscrossed my way through the city. I got to see the various sights of the city at night, the minor parties and small celebrations that went on, and the dark shape of Fenrir diving in and out of the harbor bay, fishing in the depths. As time went on, I felt my range of [The World Around Me] expanding quite a bit, letting me know without notifications that it was steadily leveling in the background.

There were only a few places I avoided. The grand houses, some more fortress than home. If they contained a local [Noble] with a purchased title, the head of a powerful trading conglomerate, or was simply the residence of a guild leader, I would never know. I did know that the buildings were large, secured, and screamed of wealth, position, and privilege.

In other words - fantastic access to healing already. Only the most miserly, stupidest idiots that ever graced the face of this planet would allow their staff to fall sick, not have them treated, then keep them in their house anyway. I felt confident enough that either everyone in the home was treated, had a healer on retainer, or wasn’t in the house, to not risk tangling with their security.

[The World Around Me] didn’t let me peek that far into the mansions in question, and they were so large that I couldn’t just [Imbue] [Cosmic Presence] or the like. Spending an hour or two breaking in just to check for healing…?

The math didn’t work out, not for the town’s oligarchs.

Dawn was still hours away as I started to encounter a new, different problem.

I had been too good at my job. I’d blazed through the city, sending out thousands, tens of thousands of butterflies, and I was flat-out running out of sick people. Where at the start I could have thrown a rock and hit seven sick people, I was now going minutes without finding anyone who needed help.

Consistent use of [Sunrise] helped keep me energized and going. I started jogging the streets in the early, early morning to check for people in basements, having frankly run out of people I could spot from high up.

A commotion from the harbor had me heading down in that direction, only to see a bleeding Fenrir in dented armor erupt from the depths, a plesiosaurus dangling from his jaws.

I was so glad we took our stuff off of him before heading into town. I didn’t want to think about all my clothes becoming that waterlogged, or how ruined our rations would be if Fenrir went diving with them attached to him.

I flew up to where Fenrir was triumphantly circling over his battlefield. He recognized me, and let me lay a hand on him, curing all the injuries he’d taken. Then it was back into the fray, walking the streets one at a time, seeing if I’d missed anyone.

As dawn broke over the horizon, and the sun’s rays refracted through Fenrir’s sparkling spray of water as he emerged once against from the depths, I switched tracks. People were out and about again, and while Iona had run interference once on the guards, it might be asking a bit too much for her to do it again, in broad daylight.

That, and I hadn’t found anyone who needed healing in the last hour!

I ducked into an alley and drew the Jiwa rune for [Greater Invisibility], once again taking to the rooftops. It was [Persistent Casting’s] time to shine again, and I was grateful for the mental break. No more calculating endless flight paths! No more holding [Astral Archive] books permanently open!

I did a fairly casual loop of the town before heading back to the inn. I dropped my invisibility before heading through the front door, taking the stairs two at a time to our room.

Iona and Auri were there, my girlfriend making a sketch of my little phoenix friend burning a pile of rats.

“Brrrpt! BRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRppppTT!!!” Auri had gone on all sorts of adventures! She couldn’t wait to tell me about her EPIC BATTLE against the evil RAT KING!

“Can’t wait to hear it.” I tried to muster enthusiasm, but I was utterly exhausted. It wasn’t the physical aspect, it was the mental.

“Welcome back love! Late lunch or sleep?” Iona asked.

I thought about it for half a second.

“Sleep.” I answered, taking two more steps towards the bed and passing out in it.

I didn’t even bother with [Vivid Dream Reading]. I needed rest, my brain was fried.

=======================

It took me a moment to reorient myself after waking up. Unknown bed, unknown room, unknown city. Then I remembered where I was and why, and it was easy enough to hear Iona belting out bawdy drinking songs down in the tavern below. Something about a milkmaid and her stallion. Iona had mentioned something about wanting to get good mileage out of this bed…

Auri was also trying to be sneaky, but there was no hiding things from me! I had an idea what she was up to though.

I was starving, but first, levels!

[*ding!* [Cosmic Presence] leveled up! 323 -> 328]

[*ding!* [Sunrise] leveled up! 471 -> 472]

Blah. Soon Auri would catch up to me, and I’d be able to level [The Dawn Sentinel] again. Nothing more frustrating than healing tens of thousands of people and getting no levels.

[*ding!* Congratulations! [Butterfly Mystic] has leveled up to level 447->449! +8 Strength, +8 Dexterity, +70 Speed, +70 Vitality, +70 Mana, +70 Mana Regen, +70 Magic power, +70 Magic Control from your Class per level! +1 Free Stat for being Human per level! +1 Strength, +1 Mana Regen from your Element per level!]

I - huh. Did [Imbue] cross experience over from [The Dawn Sentinel] to [Butterfly Mystic]? None of my activities had been particularly [Butterfly Mystic]-like. A minor amount of traveling around a town, a lightshow with [Kaleidoscope], only potentiator I could think of was it being life and death for a number of people. I wasn’t traveling, I hadn’t been using or learning new and interesting magics, I hadn’t killed monsters.

Auri had been killing monsters, but I was unsure how much experience was spilling over to me. Then again, it was a higher class, and in theory, it should be sharing experience… although no [Bookwyrm] levels suggested otherwise.

Or the experience wasn’t evenly split? That flew in the face of what I knew about companion bonds.

All of my [Butterfly Mystic] skills recapped themselves.

Nothing in [The Very Hungry Bookwyrm] leveled, which was a bit of a shame, but at the same time, I hadn’t used it at all. It was a class that would level with casual downtime, not an all-out healing sprint.

[*ding!* [Parallel Thoughts] leveled up! 103 -> 174]

Oh sweet! I could get a fourth thought process going! Getting so many levels so fast was a good reminder that while the School was great for getting new, improved, and unusual skills, it was a terrible environment for leveling those skills. Nothing like practical applications to hear the wonderful dings! of the System.

[*ding!* [Companion Bond between Elaine and Auri] leveled up! 459 -> 470]

Practically 11 levels in a single night! Leveling my bond was sort of a substitution for leveling [The Dawn Sentinel], and I anticipated it getting to 514. When that happened, I could level my healing class again! While the higher level I got, the harder it was to level up, it was somewhat mitigated by the dramatically increased scale I could work at. What did it matter if I needed 20 times the experience if I could work at 30 times the speed?

[*ding!* [The World Around Me] leveled up! 59 -> 69]

I was already getting the sense that this skill was going to be a royal pain in the rear to level up. Not quite as bad as [Oath] used to be, but a pain.

[*ding!* [Imbue] leveled up! 41 -> 188]

Well, thank you very much! The skill was the heroine of the hour. Next time I encountered a plague like this, I might be able to simply [Imbue] [Cosmic Presence] instead, and be done before dinner!

Speaking of dinner, my stomach rumbled. The innkeeper had mentioned something about food…

I hauled myself out of bed, finding that none of our chests were still in our room. Given that Iona was downstairs, I was willing to bet she’d already packed things up. A simple tunic was left folded on the room’s table, and I once again thanked my lucky stars for meeting Iona.

I got changed and went downstairs. It looked like a fairly typical drinking evening, a dozen or so patrons drinking and singing. I wasn’t surprised to find Iona as the center of attention, belting out the lyrics to the same song.

She winked as she spotted me coming down the stairs, lifting her tankard to me and subtly gesturing towards the bar with her head. I headed on over and grabbed a free stool.

“Your friend mentioned you’d be hungry. Stew? It’s fresh, just made it.” The innkeeper asked.

I took a small sniff to see what had gone into the stew. My eyelid twitched.

Apple. The innkeeper had, probably innocently, gotten some of the apple being sold in town and added it to her stew. A month or two ago, I would’ve loved the subtle sweet taste that apple brought to the food, but now I could only think that a delicious, hearty meal was denied to me.

It also meant my time in the tavern was limited. Two people having the tasty stew, and I’d want to make a discreet exit. The only reason I could imagine the innkeeper not having any was she’d been too busy running the front of the house to taste test the stew as it was being made.

I could also smell fresh bread baking, with no apple whatsoever involved.

“I’m looking for something a little simpler. Do you have some bread or anything I could have?”

She nodded.

“I can do that. Slice of bread, tankard?”

“Yes please.” The innkeeper made her way to the back, refilling a couple of tankards on her way to the kitchen.

“Brrrrrrrrrpt!!!” Auri flew over, carrying a dozen mangos with her [Mage Hands]. My savior.

They were a ‘surprise treat’ for all the levels I’d gotten her. I could only chuckle at her antics.

“Thanks Auri! What a wonderful surprise, you’re a lifesaver.”

I was starving, and the stew was taunting me with how delicious it smelled.

Who had time to peel a mango? I bit in, peel and all, and practically moaned as my hunger amplified the already potent flavor of the most precious of all fruit. It was like an orgy in my mouth, a festival for my tastebuds, a triumph on my tongue. No shred of flesh was spared, no drop of juice was allowed to fall.

I savored it, knowing Auri had brought more for me, and… there were just no words. None at all.

The innkeeper came back with two thick slices of bread with butter on them, and handed them over along with a full tankard. Iona joined me a few minutes later, dragging someone in tow.

An eternity of mango-bliss.

“Hey mangosaurus!” Iona cheerfully stole a stool and slid it next to me, sitting down on it. She quickly swapped her empty tankard for a full one, and took a deep, deep draft, draining the whole thing in a single go.

“Hey! Thank you so much for the help. How’re you doing? What did you say to the guards last night, I can’t believe you weren’t fighting! And who’s this?” I shot off as many questions as I could while Iona was drinking, getting the evil eye from her.

Hey, I thought it was funny. Like asking someone a question right as they took a huge bite of food.

Iona slammed the tankard down and let out a mighty belch.

“Ew. Charming. My heart is all a-flutter.” I sarcastically told her. She flicked my nose.

“Why thank you, dearest girlfriend mine, for running around and making sure everything was easy for me.” Iona sassed back, then turned more serious. “For the guards. I just had a nice chat with them, and managed to get them to see things from my point of view. I’m doing fine. As for who this is…” Iona trailed off and switched languages to English. She really, really wanted to make sure we weren’t going to be listened to.

“Right, you suck at this, but try not to have a huge reaction. As you might’ve noticed, I’ve moved all our stuff back outside. It’s firmly attached to Fenrir, who’s waiting outside the gates for us. You cool with leaving town now? I know there’s still a plague, but…”

I didn’t like where this was heading. Not one bit.

“There is, and there isn’t a plague.” I grinned at Iona, fairly confident that a positive reaction wasn’t the huge reaction she didn’t want me to have. “I literally ran out of people to heal last night. I can’t promise I got everyone, but the plague is effectively dead, especially with their plans to hit the fleas in a few days, and the existing medical base here. Ideally, I’d like to see things through to their conclusion, but I don’t have to stay, either because of my [Oath] or my own desire to see things through.”

“Good. Well, Bill here’s a spy for the guards. A little tricky to hide all manner of subterfuge when I can read status sheets. Given your little show last night, and his actions, I’m pretty sure they’re aiming to take you out.”

I wanted to glare murder at Bill. I wanted to spit my drink out. I wanted a lot of things, but I kept looking at the same spot, schooling my expression.

“Bastards.” I finally swore. “I come in, save a quarter of them, and they repay me by what, trying to arrest me a second time? All because my level’s a little too high? What kind of fucked up place…” I trailed off, shaking my head.

Iona shook her head.

“Assassination attempt is my bet. Anyway. Got food, got some rest, don’t need to stay, ready to get out of here before we find out what they can - no.” The last word was said in trader-tongue, as Bill tried to make a break for it. Iona didn’t even need to get up from her stool, simply sticking out her leg and hooking Bill with her foot. He went down hard with a vicious crack.

“Clear the bar if you don’t want to get hurt!” Iona roared as Bill fell, her voice booming through the room. The mood immediately broke, patrons fleeing as Iona turned from bawdy drinking buddy to divine force of retribution, her armor snapping into place.

“Time to go!” I headed straight for the stairs, choosing to remain visible so I could coordinate with Iona. I wouldn’t say nobody would expect me to use a window instead of the front door, but the door probably had more attention on it.

I stepped on Bill’s back. He was a dick, but he was injured and I had sworn to heal. I hadn’t even stepped off of him when he ruined everything.

“She’s here! Fire!” Bill screamed, and a moment later the wall practically exploded.

A dozen bolts, crackling electricity blew through the wall in a mighty barrage, fired from outside my range of [The World Around Me]. They were entirely heedless and uncaring of the patrons trying to exit through the door. The shots scythed through them and they died, minced into bloody chunks that joined the chaos.

Iona shoved me behind her, and I felt three bolts shudder into her body, Lightning violently discharging into and around her on impact. The remaining bolts sprayed Lightning over the room and everything in it - myself included - as they passed through, exploding into fragments on impact.

Everything was violence and blood, Metal and Lightning. There had been no window to save the patrons of the bar, but I was able to snap healing up for Iona, Auri, and myself.

“Auri! Go!” Iona shouted, ripping the bolts from her body with a snarl. I tugged on her arm.

“We should go! Collateral damage!” I shouted.

Iona twisted around, shielding me from a second set of attacks and scooping me up. Then she ran.

I wasn’t going to let myself be carried around like a helpless damsel. On top of my healing permanently pulsing through the two of us, letting Iona shrug off anything that wasn’t instantly lethal, I took out one of my spellbooks.

[Comprehensive Speed Reading] let me flip the book to exactly the right page, a complex piece of work. I cast the spell on the page, a minor invisibility spell that covered both Iona and I. Nothing as powerful as the [Greater Invisibility] rune I’d used earlier, but it wasn’t intended for use with others, and couldn’t be modified that way. The downside of Jiwa.

That, and it let us still hear each other.

The deadly electrical bolts continued raining through the tavern, but the moment we were out and away the attacks on us stopped. I wasn’t sure if it was because they hadn’t noticed we were out, or if they were fired from a powerful but fixed emplacement that couldn’t easily be rotated.

And just like that, we were out of danger. I mourned the dozen or so patrons of the bar that I knew had died, and however many other people were on the other side of the tavern, coldly cut down just for a chance at killing me.

The full analysis was for later.

Iona wasn’t polite, lowering one shoulder and going through the town gates. Those would be expensive to replace, but fuck them.

Fenrir was in the field outside the gates, fully armored up and with our chests strapped to him. He… I did a double take.

He was in a cutthroat poker game, using his own [Ice Manipulation] and [Ice Conjuration] to ‘hold’ his cards. The pot was piled high, and he was puffing on his pipe, surrounded by a half-dozen seedy looking people, sweating over their own hands.

“Fenrir! No time! We gotta go!” Iona shouted.

Fenrir slammed down his hand to cries of dismay, blasted the pot with Ice, freezing it into a single block, then reared up to his full height. I twisted myself free of Iona, and snapped my wings open, shattering the illusion on them. I flew up to my seat on Fenrir’s back, noting Auri streaking to her perch on his tail. Fenrir hopped forward, grabbing his loot with his legs as Iona gracefully jump-flew to her spot on his back.

All together, Fenrir flapped his mighty wings, taking off as the guards began to boil through the gate like a beehive that had been kicked over.