Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death

David watched the faster Infected rush toward Sebastian, who stood unmoving, a towering figure against the tide. One of the creatures had already been knocked to the first floor, the sickening crunch of its fall still fresh in David's ears. Maybe they weren't as strong as they seemed.

David glanced at Sebastian, whose eyes drifted to the masses of Infected splurging out of the stairwell. For a moment, the hulking man looked afraid. A bead of sweat trickled down his temples. Nope. Thinking this was going to be easy was delusional. Even if Sebastian planned to block them all, it was impossible.

The Warrior was the first to move and pounced forward. His sword hummed in the air and turned into a blur as it cleaved through the air. David's eyes narrowed, and his body tensed as the Infected before Sebastian accelerated.

Sebastian swung his blade, but the strike landed poorly, leaving the creature staggering but still upright. It lunged at him, claws flashing. For a moment, David thought Sebastian might be in trouble, but the Warrior's arm seemed untouched, even as the creature struck wildly.

The Infected didn't stop there. Its head shot forward, and it struck with frantic movements. Sebastian was too slow to evade most of its attacks and David watched the scene impatiently, a bubble of worry growing within him, until he noticed a subtle change in Sebastian's stance. Sebastian retreated few steps, seemingly ready to use Parry, but it would be too late at that point. Several Infected were already pressuring the Warrior, forcing him to retreat with their constant attacks.

Something blurred past Sebastian just as the Infected's claws swiped at his chest. An arrow! David only registered it after it narrowly missed Sebastian's head and buried itself deep in the creature's eye socket.

The Warrior shuddered once but pushed forward, acting like nothing had happened. David took the opportunity and joined him. He twisted his body until he could no more to avoid the Infected's attack. Its fingertips missed him by a hair's breadth as David shifted into a better position to use the heavy baseball bat as intended.

His weapon crashed heavily onto the Infected's head with a sickening crunch. He smiled wildly at the cracking sound that followed but his expression soured a moment later.

The Infected's skull was cracked open, revealing its rotting brain, but the undead was still moving. He'd missed, just like the Infected had missed him.

David retreated, but the Infected was persistent. It was fearless and couldn't be feeling any pain. He side-stepped and evaded the incoming attack, only to see a flash in the corner of his eyes.

[You have been infected.]

How?

David's attention flicked to his arm for a moment. He didn't notice anything for a moment, but there it was. A shallow scratch at the back of his hand. The scratch was not deep, and David wasn't even bleeding. He wouldn't have noticed anything wrong without the notification.

Unfortunately, a shallow scratch seemed enough to infect someone. It was a death sentence to those without the means to cleanse it.

David ignored it.

Since I'm already infected, I might as well go for it.

He pushed forward, dodged underneath the Infected's arms, and slammed into it without hesitation. The Infected scratched him a few more times, and this time, it actually hurt. Its claws carved deep into his flesh.

David's eyes narrowed, and he found himself losing control. Fury fueled him. His hand shot forward without hesitation, even as the Infected opened its jaws wide. It crunched down, but the heavy baseball bat was in its way, blocking the Infected from ripping his arms to shreds.

David's arm holding onto the heavy baseball bat ached as the Infected pushed forward, but he endured it. He had to.

His hand was still full in motion and smashed heavily into the Infected's cracked-open skull. It burst open and cut David's hand several times – a few more notifications popped up, probably informing him about the infection worsening – but all he noted was the squishy sensation enveloping his fist as the Infected's brain splattered.

At last, a more pleasant notification materialized before his eyes.

[You have defeated Infected(Uncommon–)]

"Their durability hasn't changed much. They're just faster and stronger!" David shouted, grimacing as he wrenched his hand free from the Infected's shattered skull.

Stay calm and get your act together! The infection is only at stage two, and the numbing sensation helps you in battle. Remember this…if you cannot feel the pain, you won't feel the pain!

David's gaze flicked to the right to see Flora, her arms trembling as she raised her Mage Wand. A twinkling blue mass gathered at its tip, transforming into a Mana Bullet.

Flora hurled the glowing mass of mana toward the Infected, but her aim was off. It struck the creature's chest, sending it stumbling backward. It recovered quickly, dragging itself forward once more.

The creature surged forward, unnoticed by anyone but David. He hefted the heavy baseball bat high and brought it crashing down onto the back of its head. The Infected staggered but pressed on, forcing him to swing again. This time, the bat struck with deadly precision, cracking its skull like a coconut. The blow carried enough force to drop the creature just before it could reach Flora.

[You have defeated Infected(Uncommon–)]

The fight wasn't over. Stay calm. Focus. Analyze the battlefield. David repeated the mantra in his mind. Combat wasn't his strength, but he knew how to assess a situation—and he had no choice but to adapt.

David spun around, ready to deal with another Infected, but Sebastian was faster. He had already taken care of another fast Infected and was fighting a second head-on. But fighting so many agile and fairly strong Infected wasn't easy. Defeating them didn't come at a cheap price.

Sebastian's arm was streaked with thick lines of dark red. David hadn't noticed them until now, but the Warrior had taken several deep scratches while fighting. Blood trickled steadily, and yellowish veins were creeping from the wounds, marking the slow advance of infection.

It's not spreading as fast as Flora's infection.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

David rushed to Sebastian's side as the Warrior cut down another swift Infected, following it with a powerful strike that ripped through several ordinary ones. Despite the horde closing in, Sebastian held his ground, his movements growing sharper and faster with each attack. It was as if his strength had surged.

He ranked up, didn't he? Isn't that the third time he's ranked up?

It was surprising but definitely a welcome gift. David smiled, seeing Sebastian pushing forward to face the small horde of Infected head-on.

"You're getting addicted to it, aren't you?" David snickered, following the Warrior. He reached the final faster Infected and was about to hit it when his hair stood up to its end. He jumped to the sight and evaded a thick mass of blue as it brushed past where he stood a moment ago.

A curse escaped his lips, but the blue mass struck the Infected square in the face with a deafening crunch. It cracked its head in one go,

And your Skill Rune ranked up. But your aim sucks!

David noticed Jack's attacks were landing more often, faster than before as well.

He's improving, though he still needs some work.

David pushed past Sebastian, crushing three skulls before he got scratched again. It was another shallow scratch, but it spread the infection.

So what?

A cacophony of snarls, bone-breaking crunches, and body-splitting squishes filled the air. Occasionally, a [Mana Bullet] and an arrow joined the fray, but it was mostly Sebastian and David who were taking care of the ordinary Infected.

[You have been infected.]

The notification flashed before his eyes, but David barely had time to process it before the pain hit. His calves burned as if someone had put them on fire.

Looking down, David saw a crippled Infected. The creature's lower half was gone, severed and discarded, yet it continued its relentless crawl toward the living. Hours ago, the sight might have made David shudder. Not anymore. His mind had already adjusted to the grotesque sight unfolding before him.

If anything, David wouldn't be surprised to see worse things now that he'd seen the dead roaming around among the living like this.

The Infected slowly crawled across the floor and ignored the stampede overhead. Its upper body had been crushed several times, and its undead brethren must have stepped on the half-infected dozens of times. Its arms had been crushed, and the creature's chest was deflated. It was already as good as dead. One way or another.

Unfortunately, none of that seemed to matter. David felt the sharp pain as the undead's teeth clamped onto his leg, its jaws threatening to tear into his flesh.

He responded instinctively. The heavy bat crashed down, crushing the Infected's head before it could rip a chunk of flesh out of his calves. It worked, but the damage was already done. He was injured, unable to put his full weight onto his left leg, and the infection entered his bloodstream,

[Infection(Stage One) has entered your bloodstream.]

There was another notification, but David ignored it. He focused on casting his Skill Runes.

[Cure Wounds]!

[Cleanse]!

Holy power surged from his Holy Sea and through his body, splitting into two streams as both Skill Runes activated in unison. [Cleanse] worked immediately, purging minor infections and flooding his body with warmth. The lingering pain dulled, replaced by a steady, calming energy that pushed the infection toward his leg, where [Cure Wounds] awaited.

The infection in his leg was quickly taken care of along with the wound.

Is it the synergy, or because I took care of the infection in my leg right after it entered my bloodstream?

David had many theories about his rapid recovery, but only one thing mattered at the moment.

[Infection has been cleansed.]

He continued fighting while his Skill Runes took care of his conditions, but there wasn't much left to do. Sebastian did an amazing job. He must have killed close to two dozen Infected with Jack's help.

In total, there had been three dozen, maybe more, Infected. They didn't charge them simultaneously, given how narrow the stairwell was, but the fight hadn't been easy.

Despite deep scratches down to his bone, Sebastian never complained. He didn't even groan, instead, he smiled reassuringly at the others. His eyes lingered on Flora and Jack, and David could feel the tension leave the Warrior's body when he saw they weren't injured.

What a softy… A savage softy.

David chuckled.

"You are a savage, dude," He praised Sebastian as he walked over. He didn't rush and focused on the holy power still circulating through his body instead.

Every bit of holy power is working efficiently, even the excess energy is subtly improving my condition.

David's hand glowed dimly as he used [Cleanse] first. The holy power first surged through David's body, improving his condition again until it reached his hand.

Sebastian wasn't faring well, his injuries were worse than expected, but David had some tests to do either way. That was important for future battles and, thus, a necessity. Sebastian wasn't at risk from a little experimentation, David assured himself.

Cost-efficiency it is…[Cleanse] first and [Cure Wounds] next, then both together, and in the next few battles, I should use them randomly to see if the order matters, or if everything is fine.

His power surged into Sebastian, whose complexion improved within seconds. The color on his face returned while the infection receded. David frowned as the infection lingered. He pushed holy power into Sebastian again, combining [Cleanse] and [Cure Wounds] to finish the job.

[Patient's Infection has been cleansed.]

[Proficiency of Cure Wounds reached 100%.]

[Tier-0 I] → [Tier-0 II]

David's Holy Sea was running dangerously low. His mind was strained and pulsed dangerously as if it was about to explode. Despite that, the smile on his lips didn't cease.

"Thanks," Sebastian smiled at him, yet the Warrior didn't look the same as before. Something about Sebastian had changed. He had a wild look in his eyes.

"No problem," David turned around. Jack looked how he usually did – like your average asshole – but Flora was breathing heavily. He noticed her hair plastered to her face, her clothes drenched in sweat. She looked exhausted, and he made a mental note to keep an eye on her.

"The Infected are growing stronger," Jack said, his eyes trailing the Uncommon Infected's corpses.

They might have defeated the group of Infected, but the situation was progressively getting worse. It was hard to believe how quickly the Infected were getting stronger. It had only been a day, but 'Uncommon' Infected didn't seem so rare anymore.

"But they're not growing more durable. At least not these Uncommon ones. They're slightly faster, taller, and stronger, but their endurance and behavior haven't changed a bit," David said. "The Infected are probably blind or cannot see well and instinct-driven rather than intelligent tacticians. But they aren't weak. Their senses of smell and hearing are sharp, especially for sweat and blood."

He looked at Flora, who'd been the focus of attack whenever the Infected inched closer. The faster Infected turned to her whenever they reached her range, which was only a few meters.

The scent of blood isn't as strong. Blood is more potent and can be smelled over an extended range but sweat can turn into a problem as well.

Flora's sweat seemed to draw them in. That could be a liability—or a tool.