Chapter 129: Chapter 129 - Adventurer Party(Part 13)

I sat down by a pillar with a strained sigh, pain throbbing across my injuries. I so badly want to fully heal my chest and left shoulder, but I can’t without giving away my Light Attribute. I’ve healed them enough that they’re not going to be fatal, but they’re still pretty severe injuries.

I suppose I could pretend that it’s a Skill, since I haven’t used my Shadow Phase Spell in front of them yet, but that’d be suspicious. After all, if I have a healing Skill, why wouldn’t I have used it much earlier?

Damn it, the Dragonoid caused me to feel instinctive fear, I couldn’t think as well as I usually do. I could’ve used a Dark Attribute Spell to confuse it or mess up its mind somehow...I’m not very good with Dark Spells since it’s hard to logically visualize them like I can with Elemental Spells, but I should be at a decent enough level to at least mildly agitate a target.

"Um, hey, are you okay? You don’t look so good...," Remarked Ilex, as he approached me.

"Yeah, I’ll live...fortunately, it didn’t pierce me too deeply. It hurts like hell, but I don’t think it’s fatal," I replied with a weary sigh.

"Oh, that’s good," He responded with a nod.

"Here, go wake up the others, splashing them should do it," I suggested, as I took a water bottle out of my Pocket Dimension and handed it to him.

"Uh, okay, leave it to me."

He took the bottle and walked over to Sakri, who was the closest. Her breathing sounds pretty ragged and strained, pretty sure her entire ribcage is broken, and she’s likely sustained some significant damage to her internal organs too.

Ilex kneeled down beside her and poured some water into his hand, before flicking it onto her face. She let out a slight groan before her eyelids fluttered open, wincing in pain as she tried to get up and clutched at the right side of her chest with a grimace.

Ilex then headed over towards Ekspen and did the same thing, before finally approaching Dispo and waking him up too. Ekspen shakily got back onto his feet, before a Magic Circle appeared and his expression eased significantly.

That wasn’t a Spell Magic Circle, it was a Skill Magic Circle...he has a healing Skill. Great, then he can heal me.

"Is everyone okay?" He inquired, as he looked around at us with a grimace.

"Okay is a bit of a stretch, but I’m alive," I replied wryly, coughing as a trickle of blood ran down the corner of my mouth.

"Y-yeah, what he said," Nodded Sakri with a weak smile.

"I’m definitely not okay," Frowned Dispo, as he stared as his charred feet.

If they’d been burnt a bit more severely, he’d have to live without his feet. I could grow them back with my healing Spell, but it’s not going to have to come to that, the damage isn’t as bad as it could’ve been.

And besides, if it had come to that, I wouldn’t have helped. There’s too much to lose for me by giving away my Light Attribute, as I’ve made clear several times.

"Don’t worry, I’ll heal everyone," Remarked Ekspen, as he walked over to Dispo and placed his hand upon him.

Oh, actually, I think his Skill is just as powerful as my healing Spell. So, I’m guessing that Skill is High Speed Healing, the same name as my Spell. Healing can be used on both the user and on another person, while Spells or Skills with the word Regeneration only applies to the user.

I can use Super High Speed Regeneration on myself, but only regular High Speed Healing on others. The next most powerful Healing and Regeneration abilities start with Ultra High Speed, and then there’s Instant Healing or Regeneration, the most powerful.

Unfortunately, those are exclusively possible only as Skills, you can’t achieve that level of healing with Spellcasting. Believe me, I’ve tried to prove that wrong, but to no avail.

Still, Super High Speed Regeneration is plenty good enough, the scope of what I can heal is the same as those Skills I mentioned, the only difference is the speed in which it heals.

Anyway, as Ekspen then healed Sakri, he walked over towards me, kneeling down and placing a hand on my right shoulder.

"Great work, I want to hear all about how you two defeated the Dragonoid, you saved all of our lives. This was a dire experience, but I think you’ll be better for it. I must say, I feel quite good about the future of us Commoners here in the Dark Continent with Adventurers like you on the-...," He began with a smile, before suddenly trailing off with a frown and moving his hand away as he began healing me.

Huh?

"Uh, is something wrong?" I inquired uncertainly.

"What...what the hell? How are your injuries partly healed already?" He inquired icily, backing away from me.

Oh, shit...he can sense that with his Skill? This is really bad, I might have fucked up...

"Hm? I don’t know what you mean, I’m-...," I started to respond with a confused look on my face, playing dumb.

"Damn it...you little shit, you’re a Heretic, aren’t you!?" He snapped with a hateful, furious look on his face.

"Huh? No...you mean to say we’ve been around a Heretic this whole time!?" Exclaimed Sakri in horror.

Fuck...fuck, this is exactly what I was-...! Okay, calm down, I can still get out of this...

"What the hell are you talking about!? Here, you can see for yourself, take a look at my Status Bar!" I responded indignantly, holding up my hand.

"You’re not fooling me, I know what I felt! I don’t know what trick you pulled to deceive the Adventurers and Guilds you’ve been to, but I know what you are...shit, those blue flames, that must have been a Heretic trick too!" He shot back venomously.

No, it wasn’t! Anyone with the Dark Attribute should be able to master that!

"H-hey, let’s calm down, even if he is a Heretic, we’d all be dead if it wasn’t for-...," Ilex began meekly.

"I’ll pretend you didn’t say anything...Heretic sympathizers are no better than the damn Heretics themselves!" Sakri interrupted him icily.

I should’ve known...before, when I asked Ekspen why the three of them go around helping other Adventurers get stronger, he mentioned defending against anyone who threatens their freedom and way of life.

Asides from Nobles, he mentioned invaders and spies from the Light Continent, and then had been about to mention Demi-Humans...and it sounded like he had more to list after that. He must have intended to mention Heretics.

Yeah, people like Rosary and Rayven are extreme exceptions...while all Commoners can agree in their hatred of Nobles, the same goes for Heretics too.

Hatred towards Heretics is deeply ingrained among the people, fear is instilled when they’re kids with the possibility of turning out to be a Heretic upon appraisal, and that fear turns to an irrational hatred.

There’s no point in trying to use logic to convince them...after all, there’s no logical reason to hate Heretics. It’s simply common sense to them, and I have no delusions of being able to change the way they think.

"So be it, then...," I relented with a sigh, as I got back on my feet and healed myself, meeting Ekspen’s hateful gaze with disgust, "Wish it didn’t have to come to this, but you’re not giving me a choice in the matter...well, whatever, I was getting tired of holding back, anyway."

"Let’s kill this bastard," He remarked coldly, before he shot straight towards me as he chanted to manifest his sword.

Sakri and Dispo are coming in towards me from either side as well, with their Soul Weapons poised to strike...Elemental Storm: Storm Burst.

As they closed in on me, I unleashed an expansive burst of wind and water, blowing them all away as I manifested my whip, before Dispo slammed his fists onto the ground and sent a powerful shockwave shooting towards me.

I swiftly sprang up to avoid it, turning my gaze to my right as Sakri shot towards me and leapt straight at me. She slashed her arm blades outwards at me as she closed in, which I managed to partially block with the dagger of my Soul Weapon, a couple of cuts appearing across my right forearm and left shoulder.

Elemental Steam: Steam Blast.

She let out a startled cry of pain as I fired out a boiling hot mass of steam at her, burning her and sending her flying back as I landed, taking a swift step back as Ekspen closed in on me and slashed his sword down at my neck.

I narrowly avoided the blade and fired out a blast of wind to send him stumbling back, before spotting Dispo to my left, his fist drawn back. He then rapidly drove it towards my side with a twist of his arm, his fist shooting towards me.

I opened up a portal into my Pocket Dimension just in time, his fist going into it before I swiftly closed the portal, tearing off his arm from about halfway down his forearm.

He let out an agonized yell of pain as blood gushed out of his arm, clutching the stump with a look of horror. I began to raise my whip in his direction, before spinning around and swinging my foot back to kick him away, as Sakri closed in on me from the other side, along with Ekspen leaping towards me.

Tch, they’re pretty fast...I evaded the slash of Ekspen’s blade, grimacing as I failed to fully dodge Sakri’s slashes, getting pierced through the waist and sustaining a deep gash below my left armpit.

They then quickly backed away as streaks of blue flame swirled around me, getting some distance. I healed myself as I continued charging up my blue flames, as well as manifesting my Magic Eater. Too bad it’s come to this...I’ll have to kill them all...

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