Ray and the others left before long. Mostly because they all decided that staying there wasn’t going to work, no matter how much dirt Gritty had on the workshop’s proprietor.

Ram, Bam, and Lam were indeed going to do an accounting confrontation, but they had decided there was no point in doing so with Cory. He was likely not responsible for the majority of the finances of the Everstead. Just that of his Cliff, to some extent, and that too up to the amount that he had been allocated from higher up.

Essentially, if the Holdstar wanted to do any true accounting, they would need to rise to Cliff One and confront the king of Everstead himself.

With the possibility of that looking quite slim, Ram and the other two had instead decided to head down and find wherever the Floor Lord was. Ray had suggested them to wait, since his ultimate plan revolved around flushing the Floor Lord out of hiding. They had declined.

At least they would be travelling with Gritty for a while. That reassured Ray, to an extent.

“Be careful,” Ray told Gritty before they departed. He had no idea when he would ever see any of them again. “I know you’re pretty good at killing people and you’ve killed a bunch of the Everstead already, but still.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be sure not to die.” She only tried to look annoyed. “The same goes for you.”

Ray scoffed. “You think I’m dying before I reach the top of the Tower?”

She gave him a quick hug before scurrying out of the room. The gesture had surprised Ray, if pleasantly so.

Ray called up Kredevel before actually implementing his plan. He didn’t want to get into it and have Kredevel find out from some third-party that he was seemingly betraying his friend.

Kredevel: You intend to double cross them, then?

Ray: Essentially.

Kredevel: And you believe they will be duped.

Ray: Not exactly. I believe they have no choice BUT to be duped.

He went on to explain how much the plague was wreaking havoc on their army. After all, it was a major reason that the Sylvans were succeeding against them.

It wasn’t just the fact that a lot of the Everstead forces had been afflicted by it, somehow, and were now incapacitated from participating in any actual battles. There was also the fact that they had to coordinate their forces with far greater precision and control. They no doubt wanted to minimize the amount of people that caught the plague.

In fact, Ray suspected that the Everstead weren’t able to bring the full might of their forces to bear upon the Sylvans because of that. It wouldn’t do to get their whole army infected by the plague too.

Their priority wasn’t defeating the Sylvans or the Floor Lord. Their priority was containing the plague itself.

Which was where Ray came in. He, hopefully, could provide a path for them to rid themselves of the plague with the help of the Tower Nodes of the Fleshcrafter.

Of course, there would be trouble in getting into a position where he could actually use the Tower Nodes. The Everstead had to know that he had killed those soldiers who had come after him. But Ray was counting on their desperation, and on the fact that they couldn’t know about the Tower Nodes yet.

Ray: What’s even better is that I won’t be able to do it for long. The Tower Nodes can only be used for a limited amount of time.

Kredevel: Which means they will only send their most important combatants to you.

Ray: Yep! If I can get to know who these important people are, and what they’re capable of, I can pass on the information to you.

Kredevel: I wish you luck in your endeavour, then. That would be tremendously helpful.

Ray paused for a second, but then forged on anyway. No need to hesitate now.

Ray: Of course, they could be so powerful that it might not matter what kind of information I give you. They’ve got some pretty crazy people in their lineup.

He went on to describe what he had experienced when he had tried to use Primordial Gauge on one of the lords. Cory and Caleb, and likely quite a few others, all outclassed Ray.

The thought made him frown. This was it. This was what he had been missing. The overarching threat that he hadn’t properly actualized. The equivalent to the Floor Lord from the First Floor.

It was just the fact that the threat wasn’t crystallized into one figure that had made him not realize it. Ray didn’t have a singular enemy he most likely would need to confront in the end.

With the way things were going, he might need to fight an entire kingdom.

As such, he needed to be strong enough to take them down, no matter who they sent. If he was having trouble defeating just one disposable spear-wielder, then that meant he had a lot of room for improvement.

Ray took a deep breath. Alright. He knew what he had to do.

He just had to remain alive to do it.

Kredevel: That is why this plague has been a blessing. It affects them all, regardless of their level. They cannot escape it. Until now.

Ray: Then I hope you’ve got what it takes to take them down.

It felt casually cruel to say it like that. This was a giant gamble of Ray’s own making, one that could jeopardize all the gains that the Sylvans had achieved on the Second Floor so far.

But Kredevel didn’t argue against it. He knew Ray’s ultimate goal. More importantly, he supported it.

If Ray was successful, he would end up drawing out the Floor Lord, wherever she was now. The Sylvans might even be able to convince her to lend a hand to those who were fighting so valiantly for her. Ray could very well tip the balance of the war in the Sylvans’ favour.

Big risk for big regards.

Kredevel: Fair fortune, my friend.

Ray: You too. Good luck. Make sure you don’t die, no matter what.

Kredevel: I shan’t.

With that conversation done, Ray took a deep breath, then headed out. This was going to be the tricky part.

----------------------------------------

Ray raised his hands as he entered the manor compound. It was a weird reflex from growing up on Earth. Back home, they were all afraid of others holding weapons.

Now, in this world of Systems and skills, Ray could trap his hands behind his back and still unleash a lot of his spells to wreak devastation.

Strangely, it was the Everstead who insisted that he keep his hands raised as he entered the compound. They had access to the System. A lot of them had access to powerful skills. Then why in the world were they so insistent on having him keep his hands straight up like they were afraid he’d pull out a gun?

Whatever. If Ray wanted to secure a meeting with Cory, he would need to comply with their demands. At least they weren’t crazy yet.

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

Weirdly, Cory didn’t let Ray get too close.

“Halt!” a guard yelled.

Ray halted. Even though he was still over fifty feet from the person he had come to meet.

“You have great nerve coming here in this fashion.” Cory was trying to keep it together for the sake of his followers. Even from this distance, Ray could see that he was struggling a little. His eyes had sleepless bags, his face was ashen and grave. Cory was not taking this war well. “I find it difficult to believe you can truly cure the plague.”

They were far enough that they needed to raise their voices to be heard clearly. A little annoying, but there wasn’t much Ray could do about it.

“I said I might be able to,” Ray yelled. “I still need to test things. It might not work. But I figured you’d be willing to give it a shot regardless, considering you’ve got nothing that works.”

Ray had been banking on that very fact. He had counted on the Everstead kingdom’s desperation to ensure his own safety.

“How do you intend to cure the plague?” Cory asked.

“I have some abilities that can manipulate the flesh of others. I’ve already seen first hand what kind of affliction this plague causes. If you remember, I was involved in investigating it on Cliff Three. I like to think I’ve got some expertise.”

“Flesh manipulation… I should have known one such as you would possess such dangerous abilities.”

“We’re not here to judge my abilities. We’re here to judge whether I can actually heal your people from this plague.”

“Why?” Clearly, Cory remained unconvinced. But he also had no choice. Even if his mind told him not to accept Ray’s offer, if it turned out he could indeed heal others from the plague, then it wasn’t an opportunity they could pass up. “Why would you assist your enemy?”

“You’re not my enemy. Or you weren’t, as far as I knew. The mix-up that happened was because you and your soldiers stupidly believed that I was the one you were looking for.”

“Mix-up?” someone growled.

Another hissed, “Stupidly?”

Cory held up a hand. He wasn’t interested in bickering. Ray’s heart thudded a little. He would be lying if he said his whole body wasn’t tense. After all, he was surrounded by people who had every reason to want him dead.

“My question stands, Raymond,” Cory said. “Why would you help us?”

“Why have I ever helped you, Cory?”

The rest growled some more at his blatant use of the lord’s name without any honorifics.

But Cory merely bared his teeth. “Because you are a mercenary who is always seeking his own profit.”

“Exactly. I want to strike another deal. My help in return for at least granting me passage to Cliff One. Let’s talk about the specific details about the exact help I can offer, the frequency and the information I want in exchange, all that kind of stuff. You understand, right?”

“I wish I didn’t.”

That actually made Ray laugh.

“So, what’s your choice?” Ray asked. “Are you going to take a chance on me and see if I can actually be of use?”

There were a lot of disagreements to that. Loud and vocal ones. Actually, not just disagreements. There was a good chunk of the gathering who wanted Ray dead on the spot.

Good thing then that they weren’t making any decisions regarding him. That was entirely up to Cory.

“I will need proof,” Cory said. “Wait here, and I will bring your first… patient.”

Ah, so he was supposed to demonstrate his capabilities right here, in front of everyone. He’d be taking out two birds with one stone. Reassuring Cory and also quelling all the outcry around him.

Ray complied. Cory didn’t himself go get whoever he was supposed to heal. After what felt like fifteen minutes, a couple soldiers brought another one of them instead.

The man was definitely infected. Ray was actually surprised that the soldiers had brought him so casually. Weren’t Cory and the others afraid of catching the affliction? Although, now that Ray looked closer, he saw that Cory was being protected by a strange, shimmering veil over him. Huh. Some sort of skill or item that stymied the spread of the plague?

Whatever the case, Ray’s task was clear. He looked down at the man at his feet.

The poor fellow was suffering from the same cancerous growths that the rest of the afflicted had attained. Pustules covered his arms and shoulder, and one of his legs looked like it had been blown up into a fleshy balloon. His head was bulbous and shot with veins, but not too bad just yet.

“You’re in a terrible state, huh?” Ray said.

The man groaned back unintelligibly.

Ray closed his eyes to concentrate for a moment, then called up the Tower Node of the Fleshcrafter. It blinked to life beside him, the flesh within its glassy cage writhing to life.

He didn’t want to reveal the existence of the Tower Node to the Everstead. At least, he didn’t want them to know was that he possessed any. Thankfully, there was an easy way to make sure it remained hidden, even when it was outside.

At the same time that the Tower Node had appeared, Ray had called forth his Imitator construct. The summoning was fast, as was the construct’s execution of his command. Before anyone was aware, the sludgy construct had covered the Tower Node while also transforming its appearance to look like an extension of Ray’s Vestments.

Ray himself got close enough to the Tower Node to make it brush up against his leg, thus enhancing the illusion. Hopefully, no one had seen the Tower Node. Not for long, at least.

Focusing on the man before him, Ray got to work.

“This better work,” he muttered.

The man groaned back at Ray again.

Ray concentrated on the power of the Tower Node, on its ability that allowed him to manipulate flesh itself. He recalled his act against the Viledrake. The image of pieces of the monster tearing free from its main body was still fresh in Ray’s mind.

He needed the same kind of power now. Not as strongly, though. He needed more precise control. But that should be fine. He was substituting power for precision. Sacrificing it. He didn’t want to rip this man to smithereens of meat. All he wanted to do was remove the cancerous growths ravaging his body.

A connection formed between Ray, the Tower Node, and his subject. He couldn’t properly describe it. What he could understand was the fact that it felt like he had become a dam. A barricade holding back much greater power.

It was like the Tower Node wanted him to unleash flesh-tearing frenzy and reduce the man to a thousand bloodied bits.

Ray took a deep breath to steady himself. He wasn’t going to lose to a Tower Node’s impulses. This power was his to wield. Nobody, not even the Fleshcrafter, was going to wrest control from him.

Slowly, Ray applied the same kind of excising control he had implemented against the Viledrake on the man. He watched with bated breath as the pustules on the man’s arm started coming off. Ray could apparently dry them up before plucking them off, leaving the arm mostly uninjured.

Fuck, it was disgusting work though. And tiring. Holding back the Tower Node’s power was causing a good deal of strain on his mind.

The man continued groaning as Ray worked, though he eventually fell silent. It concerned Ray a bit. Was he even alive any longer? Thankfully, Primordial Gauge confirmed that he hadn’t killed off his patient yet.

Good enough. He continued working.

Ray realized that if he could force the flesh to obey his command, then he could force it to reknit. He could make it make it heal, in a way. Close any open wounds, reattach any torn ligaments and such, cut off blood flow in severed vessels. Things like that.

It probably wasn’t true healing like the kind that Joaquin was capable of. Though, that made him think there had to be a Tower Node of the Healer or something like that.

Point was that it was good enough for the man in front of him. Time passed and Ray continued to work, but he was making progress. He managed to pull out the corrupted, Growth-Mana-afflicted flesh from the man. His head returned to normal, losing the pulsing veins. Even his leg had greatly reduced in swelling.

[New Personal Achievement—Plague Healer!]

You have healed a being from a cancerous plague! For once, you have chosen to apply your powers directly to heal rather than destroy.

Reward

* Reputation: +25 Benevolent

[Reputation Threshold Crossed]

For reaching the 100-point threshold, your Benevolence now refunds you the Mana cost of one spell every thirteenth spell. Refunded Mana is equivalent to the cost of the thirteenth spell used in a chain.

Ah, that was nice. It had been a while since his last achievement.

Of course, all that excising had left the flesh near Ray. A chunk of the bloodied, pulsing, oozing mass had fallen to the ground around him,

He really wasn’t squeamish. It was difficult to be, considering his chaos normally made living bodies twist and contort in unfathomable ways. But having literal chunks of corrupted meat next to him was a whole other ordeal.

“Done!” Ray announced. “Your friend should be as good as—well maybe, not as good as new, but close enough, I think.”

“We will be the judge of that,” Cory said.

He ordered the same soldiers who had brought in the man to go and retrieve the fellow, who was still faint.

Whatever the men did, whatever process they used to check the state of Ray’s patient after he had been pulled away, actually worked. After one of the soldiers reported to their superior, Cory looked back at Ray with a look of awe that was visible even at this distance.

“You actually did it,” he said.

Ray grinned. “Of course I did. There was never any doubt.”

“Although, you do not look as though you could do it again.”

Damn, was it that obvious? He wiped some sweat off his brow and wished he could somehow make the disgusting remains of the man’s illness disappear.

“It does take some time to recharge, yes,” Ray said.

“It?” Cory asked.

“My ability to manipulate flesh, yes.” Ray tried not to wince. He was revealing more than he wanted to, but it was unavoidable. “I won’t be able to heal anyone else for today. But it did work. So is that proof enough? Can we get started on figuring out the actual details of my deal?”

Cory looked consideringly at Ray. There were no protests this time, no calls of separating Ray’s head off his shoulders. They were all impressed by his display.

In truth, he wasn’t sure how much he had succeeded, even if he had received an achievement for it. For all he knew, the man would look as bad as he had before Ray had worked his magic in only a few hours. Maybe all Ray had done was remove the corrupted flesh, but the real illness was still buried within his body.

But he figured even temporary reprieve would be welcome. He had helped. He had succeeded, even if only for a time. That had to count for something.

“Alright,” Cory said. “Let us discuss… this new deal of yours.”

Ray grinned. Oh, yes. He was pretty sure he had just secured his ticket to Cliff One.

To the end of the Second Floor for him.