51:
Jack dropped to a crouch opposite Jin, making sure to keep his still bleeding right hand angled away from Marcus’s supine form. The Greater Recovery Pill had staunched the bleeding in his wrist’s radial artery, eliminating the risk of him bleeding out before it healed the other burst blood vessels.
He didn’t want Marcus’s wound getting infected, but from the looks of it, he might be too late for such concerns. Jin had ripped open Marcus’ tattered tunic to reveal a fist sized depression in his chest that had gone black and blue from having the ribcage’s bone shattered inward, ringed by a wall of deep red that was expanding outwards at a noticeable rate, indicating serious hemorrhaging.
He held himself back from wincing at the sight as he realized the true depth of the force Sarah’s Jade Guard Armor Set had saved her from. The Doomsday Prepper within him, a once act that had mired itself in reality, couldn’t believe Marcus’s audacity in charging the Juvenile Werewolf head on whilst lacking both reach and a means to defend himself, whilst his human-side couldn’t help but respect the grit Marcus had displayed by not only standing up to the beast, but also injuring it long enough for Jin to survive.
“I…,” Jin began in a shaky tone. “I didn’t— I couldn’t have known, no, this wasn’t what I meant to happen. Marcus… he did make a mistake, yes, but if we had committed to the attack, if we had been strong enough, it was the goblins that would’ve died that day. It wasn’t— isn’t my place to judge him…,” She trailed off as two streaks of warm tears trailed down her cheeks, a soft sob wracking her wiry frame.
Marcus’ wet, rattling breathing spoke of his lungs’ losing battle against his shattered ribcage and pulmonary hemorrhage, the wheezing growing increasingly worse with every passing second.
Before Jack could respond, Sarah’s voice cut into the conversation from a short distance away, “Jack!”
His gaze shifted to Sarah’s approaching form as she gestured with her free hand, her thumb and index finger pinching together a small, spherical pill within as she made a throwing gesture with it, “Here!”
Only after Jack nodded in confirmation did Sarah lob the pill across the air in a descending arc.
Jack snatched it from the air well before it could roll away into the grass and without hesitation, fed it to Marcus.
A minute passed by them and Jin had sniffled away her sobbing, instead watching with rapt focus as the wave of deep-red internal bleeding ceased in its expansion, even diminishing slightly from its approach towards Marcus’s neck and pelvic region.
A hacking cough escaped Marcus, causing him to spit out a glob of phlegm and blood before he breathed a little easier than before, but the depression in his chest remained unaffected by the Greater Recovery Pill’s healing when it should have been the first site to be targeted by it.
Jack had thought as much. The Greater Recovery Pill wasn’t designed to heal fatal wounds and it would have been absurd for the price if it could.
“No…,” Jin softly muttered, an air of resignation to her tone.
Jack’s attention was held captive by the status of Marcus’s wound, before his eyes glazed over as he called upon the system. A moment later, he replied, “There might be a way to save him.”
“What is it?” Jin’s gaze snapped onto his own, her voice carrying an intensity to it that made the earlier sorrow almost feel like an act. “Tell me, please.”
Jack’s gaze turned to the treasure chest that was supposedly connected to the Mist-Vault, before he spoke, “Open that chest. It should reward you for our efforts here and hopefully, one of those rewards will be Tutorial Points. If you have enough, use them to buy a Flowing Vitality Pill. Otherwise, I’ll give it a shot next.”
Jin hurriedly nodded, not asking for more information or clarification as to why or how Jack knew that information to be true, as she got up and rushed towards the direction of the chest. To him, it seemed like Jin didn’t care much about the specifics as long as Marcus lived, though whether that was because she cared more for the man than she’d let on or didn’t want his death to be on her account, remained to be seen.
Sarah reached him before Jin got to the chest, albeit from a different direction. Her limp was gone as she walked with slow but steady steps, coming to a stop next to him before dropping down to the hard-packed earth beneath them as she finally allowed exhaustion to claim her.
A sombre silence fell into place between them, as neither felt the need to articulate on the recent battle that had stretched them all to the limits. The fourth member of their group lying supine before them, with his chest crumpled and drawing what very well could be his last few breaths spoke enough on the matter.
If the strength of the enemies kept increasing at what felt like an exponential rate, they were bound to slip up eventually and then it would be either Jack or Sarah lying splayed across the ground with a mortal wound, helpless to alter their fate.
Thankfully, the system prompt he had gotten after slaying the Juvenile Werewolf told a different story, given that Hidden Pieces meant elevated risk balanced with elevated rewards. Once they stepped out of the Howling Mist-Vault, they would have an easier time, or at least, that was the best educated guess he could make with the knowledge he had access to.
Now that I think of it, Sarah might not have noticed yet, Jack thought, having noticed how utterly exhausted she seemed, not to mention the disorientation that came with taking a superhuman strength empowered kick to the gut probably wasn’t too conducive to drawing inferences.
He had something to tell her, after all.
Before Jack managed to get the words out of his mouth, his attention was drawn by Jin touching the fog-wrought chest. She didn’t have to do anything else as the chest swung open, stayed that way for a second, before slamming shut again.
Jack assumed that her reward had been transferred over to her inventory, so he watched closely as her eyes glazed over as she accessed the system.
A moment later, she reached out towards a tear in the void and pulled out a small lacquered wooden box that was roughly the size of his clenched fist. Hurriedly pulling it open, Jin plucked the largest pill Jack had ever seen, it’s hue a menacing deep-red and its size matching that of a human eyeball.
Locking her gaze with Jack’s, she chucked the pill at him after he offered her a quick nod. Jack caught it, but this time he didn’t rush to feed it to Marcus.
Instead, he used the Inspect skill upon it.
[Flowing Vitality Pill, Advanced Ranked Alchemical Pill
Description: A Flowing Vitality Pill refined by an Alchemist Designate that is suitable for use upto Peak Layer, Qi Gathering Stage. Draws from and enhances the effect of the cultivator’s lifeblood, using it to heal any major wounds inflicted upon the wielder at a greatly accelerated rate for the next fifteen minutes after consumption of the Flowing Vitality Pill (up to 700% more potent than a Greater Recovery Pill).
By drawing upon the cultivator’s lifeblood, the Flowing Vitality Pill transfers vitality from the future into the present, shortening the cultivator’s lifespan in exchange for extremely powerful healing that is generally inaccessible at the Qi Gathering Stage.
Note: Using more than one Flowing Vitality Pill within the span of one month will lead to Pill Toxicity. Potential Side-effects: Cripping of Dantian, weakening and potential shattering of meridians, destruction of Dao Mark, Death.]
The newly levelled version of Inspect he now had access to, having reached Level 7 in the skill, seemed willing to reveal a lot more information to him.
The Flowing Vitality Pill had ended up being a lot different than he’d imagined it to be based on the name. He had been expecting a more potent healing pill, but drawing from your own lifespan to fight for fifteen minutes without worrying about wounds wasn’t a tradeoff most would make. Still, it was a great last-ditch resort and that was exactly what they needed.
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Jack didn’t hesitate in giving it to Marcus.
For a moment, there was no change and Jack found himself wondering if the pill needed Marcus to be conscious to take effect.
Then Marcus’s chest began to convulse, his lungs expanding and contracting rapidly as his hands curled inwards and his feet were stretched outwards to the fullest extent as his back thrashed against the hard-packed earth beneath him. Instead of interfering, Jack and Sarah, who seemed more shocked than horrified, pulled away with their enhanced reflexes lest they be caught up in Marcus’s thrashing.
From an outside perspective, it felt like Marcus was short on air despite inhaling and exhaling by the second, as if he were being choked by an unseen force. However, the truth was drastically different, as Jack witnessed the hemorrhaging that had spilled onto Marcus’ entire chest pull back by the moment. Two or three minutes in, Marcus’ wound was limited to the depression in his chest.
Having witnessed the power of the Flowing Vitality Pill’s healing potency, Jack had expected Marcus to recover in another three minutes, but it spoke to the devastating strength the Juvenile Werewolf was capable of that it took over ten minutes.
Near the half-way mark, after hearing pops and cracks sounding out from Marcus’s ribcage for the dozenth time, Jack was wondering if he’d be able to heal fully within the fifteen minute timeline at all, but it seemed like the earlier healing had been focused on the internals, before Marcus’s shattered rib cage was given priority.
Though near the end of the fifteen minutes, the efficacy of the Flowing Vitality Pill was on clear display. The colour had returned to Marcus’s cheeks and his chest was made whole, though Jack had to wonder just how steep a price he’d paid to his lifespan.
Jin collapsed to her knees with a relieved sigh at seeing Marcus hale while Jack couldn’t help but be awed at the display of such a powerful healing effect.
Sarah on the other hand, just opted to ask directly, “Just what was in that pill?”
“Very powerful healing,” Jack replied. “But at a cost.”
Sarah wasn’t given the opportunity to clarify her question as Marcus’s eyes snapped open without warning. His reflexes kicked in before any explanation could as he rose to a seated position before flailing his blade in a wide arc aimed to decapitate anyone or anything near him. Of course, there was no blade in his hand and neither was any enemy left alive for him to kill.
Marcus’ eyes widened in confusion as he looked from Jack, to Sarah before his gaze stopped at Jin, the panic in his gaze enough to send a chill down anyone’s eyes.
“Where is it? Where’s that damn wolf?” He asked as he tried to scramble to his feet.
Jack put a shoulder on his hand, as he spoke, “Relax, Marcus. The wolf is dead.”
“The wolf?” Marcus dumbly repeated, as if he could not understand the word. “It couldn’t be…,” He trailed off, allowing himself to be kept from rising as his eyes narrowed in understanding, “You killed it?”
“I did, Marcus,” Jack replied.
Collapsing back onto his rear, Marcus angled his gaze downwards towards his bare chest, noticing the lack of even scar wounds, “This…I’m dreaming, aren’t I? Fuck, I’m probably in a coma, dying or entirely dead. Damn if I didn’t get close though, if that creature had let me stay on its back for a few more seconds I would’ve melted its skull off its back. Damn this Dao Mark for unlocking late…”
Jack’s eyebrows rose and with it, his caution. If Marcus didn’t seem to have said his piece, he would’ve been content to let him keep going.
After his experience with Trent, Jack knew exactly how capable someone with a mark was of killing him before he even identified the threat and that’s exactly what Marcus was now.
“You aren’t dead, Marcus,” Jin cut into the conversation. “We healed you with a pill from the tutorial shop.”
That revelation seemed to have an effect on the resignation etched on Marcus’s visage, as he looked up to Jin with hopeful eyes that wanted to be convinced, “Really?”
“Look around you, Marcus. We’re in the same place, with the same fog blocking our sight. Only difference is the wolf is dead and Jin used up a few thousand TP to buy a pill that managed to save you,” Jack matter-of-factly explained, knowing that every moment they spent in the fog was another moment they could be at the mercy of their enemy.
“Really?” Marcus turned to Jin, his expression softening. “I owe you my life—”
“No,” Jin replied, with a curtness to her tone that stood at odds with the concern she had been displaying for him when his life was in the lurch. “I don’t need you to die for me, Marcus. There were four of us in the beginning, Marcus. Takeshi died fighting the rift goblins. Carmen died trying to escape the camp. And you should’ve died here, taking an attack that was meant for me. No more of this,” Jin vehemently shook her head as she turned towards Jack and Sarah, who was standing next to him.
She continued, “You might’ve rescued us because the system told you where we were, but I’m certain there’s no obligation towards you two to let us tag along. You could’ve forced us out of the group and we would’ve been powerless to resist and I am not sure if I could blame you for it, seeing what I have seen now. But…,” Jin took a moment to reign in her emotions before she made her case, “Knowing what I know, seeing what I have seen, witnessing the difficulty of keeping just myself alive, let alone another in face of the apocalypse, I will still selfishly ask you to train me. To teach me what you know and what you can. In return, I will promise to fight by your side, bleed for you and see this through to the end, one way or the other. I swear it on my life and on the system, if it means anything.”
Sarah seemed flabbergasted by Jin’s sudden outburst of both emotions and feelings, but Jin’s actions made sense to Jack. She had blamed Marcus for Takeshi, her former group member’s, death, but Marcus had tried to make amends for it by charging into the fray and saving her life and the near cost of his own.
She hadn’t wanted Marcus to die because his death would have been spurred on by her own words, but at the same time, the wound Marcus’ actions had left on her heart and indirectly caused Carmen’s death, wasn’t something that could be healed by wishing it away. That left only one thing for her to rely on and it wasn’t him or Sarah—- it was her own strength.
If there were two factions amongst the four, then Jin had shifted sides from the camp survivors’ side to Jack and Sarah’s.
It was a remarkably human decision from Jin’s side. Was it Jack and Sarah’s character that had moved her, or was it her decision to prioritize her strength above all that led her to the stronger side? Was there any truth to her oath? Would she choose a third party over them tomorrow, if they proved to be stronger?
Jack didn’t know and he had no way of knowing until it happened.
But did he have any reason to turn Jin away after they had fought side by side?
Jack was a human, no more or less than any other. He would do the same thing to survive and he had reached the same conclusion Jin had far faster than her.
“I’m okay with it,” Jack replied, turning to Sarah.
Sarah nodded, still seeming more confused than anything else.
“Don’t make us regret this, Jin,” Jack softly added, knowing precisely what happened when parties fell apart.
Jin bowed before standing tall and walking over to their side.
Jack’s gaze turned to Marcus, quick enough to catch the ugly scowl on his visage.
“What about you, Marcus?” Jack asked.
“What about me?” Marcus replied, just about managing to have schooled his expression.
“You don’t have to follow us,” Jack calmly replied, knowing that Marcus had been having problems with his authority for a while now.
“That’s a death sentence!” Marcus protested angrily, his expression tensing as he exclaimed.
“Not quite,” Jack replied. “There’s a reward waiting for your contribution to the Werewolf’s kill right there,” He pointed to the chest and Marcus’ gaze followed. “How many TP were in there, Jin?”
“Seventy-five hundred.”
Jack nodded in understanding, before continuing, “You might get more TP than that, but it won’t be less. That’s an armor set right there, giving you as much of a chance as anyone here.”
“And if I want to stay?” Marcus asked.
“Then you need to understand that someone needs to lead and it isn’t going to be you,” Jack declared, his gaze flitting over to Sarah, who gave him the nod he needed to keep going, “We can’t have friction in the group when there are literal man-wolf hybrids prowling this fog. So you can either listen to what I say for the cohesion of the group or make your own way through, either way I think we’ve done right by you,” He stated, an iron to his tone that made it very clear that this was the final offer he was extending.
Slowly, Marcus got back up onto his feet, deflating a little as he nodded with a curt, “Fine.”
“Are you sure?” Jack gave him a searching look.
Marcus nodded.
“Great. Show me your Dao Mark, please?” Jack requested.
“W-What?” Marcus sputtered, the sheer unexpectedness of the request catching him off-guard.
“If we can’t trust each other, this doesn’t work. If you’ve got a weapon you can point at the enemies, all three of us need to be aware of it before you unleash it on the battlefield.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marcus deflected, his tone about as even as he could manage it as he looked Jack dead in the eye.
“I’ve seen a Dao Mark before, Marcus. And when I say seen, I really mean it. Up close, an inch from plunging into my gut. Show me your Dao Mark or leave.”
“It’s a bit too late to deny it, all of us heard you Marcus,” Sarah added, not bothering to hide that she knew what a Dao Mark was as well.
His expression falling, Marcus did a good job of balling his fury up into two fists. Then he unclenched them and his shoulders sagged a little, before he replied with a dull “Fine.”
Bringing his palm forward and keeping it pointing upwards, Marcus revealed the flame icon that had been engraved into the side of his arm before he activated it.
Jack didn’t really know how Dao Marks worked yet so conjecture on that matter was pointless. He wasn’t even sure if Marcus or Trent would have been able to explain how their Dao Marks worked, given that Jack was far from understanding the nuances that were involved in the way he himself manipulated Qi. His Essence Syphon Art had given him a glimpse into the underlying mechanics but he was still a ways off from making them his own.
Still, Jack watched with rapt focus as Marcus’s open palm burst into flames, the heat emanating from it as real as the juvenile werewolf they had slain.
Jack called upon the Primordial Claw he had been secretly preparing and lunge forward before anyone could understand why.
There was something Jack had to test.