"Check this one out!"

Kade caught the stone that Cal tossed to him. He eyed it carefully while rubbing his thumb across it.

It was a dark grey color, unnaturally smooth, and quite a bit cooler than most they had found. He wasn't a geologist, but he hadn't seen anything like it on Earth.

"I don't know if it's worth anything, but we can have an expert evaluate it when we get back. Good find." He said casually while flicking the stone back to Cal.

"What about this, Fearless leader?" Walter said with a mocking smirk as he handed over another stone.

Kade took the stone before raising a brow as he inspected it. "Oh wow... This is good. Very good!" He exclaimed.

"R-really?!" Walter asked as his eyes lit up

"Oh yeah." Kade nodded "It's perfect for smashing snarky punks over the head with." He said as he drew his arm back.

Walter's eyes widened as he recoiled and guarded with his arms. However, nothing happened.

"Pfft, dumbass." Kade mocked as the stone dropped to the ground. Who told the kid that it was smart to make fun of him?

Walter glanced around with an embarrassed expression as his friends cackled at his expense.

Ben approached "I think I might actually have something." He said while holding out a withered branch.

Kade sighed. He couldn't understand why these guys thought he was some expert on natural treasures. Maybe it was because he was the oldest? Regardless, he grabbed the branch.

His brows furrowed when his fingers touched the branch. He quickly swiped it and closed his eyes. 'What the hell?' He thought. This branch truly was unique. It gave off far more energy than anything else he had found.

The energy that was contained in natural treasures was different than Altaris, and normally it was undetectable to him. However, the energy radiating from the branch seemed almost tangible.

"Where did you find this?" Kade asked as he stood up.

"Over at the big creek to the Northeast." Ben replied while standing up and leading the way.

Fifteen minutes later the group stood on the bank of the creek.

Crouching down, Kade surveyed the area finding a few chips of bark that resembled the small branch in his hand. 'They floated down with the current.' He thought as his eyes followed the water.

"As soon as I finish cleansing my channels we will go find the tree that this branch came from." He declared.

"Wait." Walter chimed in "Are you serious? That stupid branch is more valuable than my rock?"

Kade slowly turned his head to expose his disdainful expression. "I can't believe you're upset about a rock..."

Walter huffed and threw his arms up "It's a good rock! I'm tellin' ya. I think you don't know what you're talking about with all this treasure appraisal crap." He said indignantly.

Kade raised a brow before rocking his head side to side. He couldn't refute Walter's assumption, he was right, after all. Still, he didn't have to be an expert to know that this branch was special and the rock was just a rock.

"Either way, we are going to the tree as soon as we can." Kade said before walking up and patting Walters shoulder "Look at the bright side, there will be plenty of rocks for you to grab along the way."

"IT'S NOT ALL ROCKS, OKAY!" Walter exclaimed with a red face "It's just this one!" while raising his precious rock above his head.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Rocky." Jay said with a smirk as he walked past.

Walter could only stand slack-jawed as each of his friends threw a verbal jab before leaving him standing at the creek.

...

"Ugh!" Kade's body curled in pain.

It had been seven days since he was injured, and his body's injuries had healed completely on the fourth day. As expected, after his body was healed, his Altaris channels began healing. Unfortunately, he was still quite a ways from cleansing his channels.

His only solution was less than ideal. Damage his channels faster than they could heal. It was excruciating but effective. The only solace was that he didn't have to redamage the sections that he had already cleared.

sitting up, he leaned against the tree while panting. As much as he would like to, he couldn't rest. He didn't have long before his channels would begin healing again, and though the healing process was slow, he didn't want to risk it.

Closing his eyes, he began manipulating his Altaris as he had daily. Over the last six days, his skill had grown tremendously. From a hollow pipe that he could barely maintain, to a pseudo test tube. The sides swirled slowly, pulling in the impurities and depositing them into the hollow center where they swirled about.

The structure would often warp or appear shaky as evidence of how difficult this was for him. However, he always managed to keep it together and clear out an acceptable section of his channels.

He was forced to take a break after thirty minutes. The process was just too exhausting mentally.

Looking to the sky, he smiled faintly. The effects of absorbing the beast cores energy reached farther than he expected. The large mass of energy had stretched his channels to over double their diameter, and while the channels had a certain level of elasticity, it wasn't enough to return them to their original size.

The sections he had cleared had their inner diameter increase by 66%. This was a good change, and though there were some temporary cons, overall this would result in a significant power spike in the long run.

The increase allowed an equal amount of energy to flow through his channels. This meant that his cultivation would be faster, as well as his spell creation. The main downside was that he didn't have the level of skill needed to control so much energy easily.

In the short term, he wouldn't be able to cast spells efficiently. Maybe he wouldn't be able to cast them at all. However, as his skill improved to accommodate these changes, his strength would increase dramatically.

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Plus, his skills would increase at a breakneck speed for some time, as proven by his recent improvement when clearing his channels of impurities.

Of course, all of this meant that he was at a huge risk while on Detrius. As a mage, his primary means of self-defense were his spells, and without being able to use them, he was essentially defenseless.

Luckily, he wasn't alone. With the kids' help, he could make it through this trial.

'I wonder how they are doing.' He thought as he scanned through the trees.

They had left a few hours ago to hunt. Kade couldn't help but worry slightly. Though technically the kids' weren't his responsibility, he saw a lot of his own family in them and had grown fond of them.

Unfortunately, he couldn't help them right now. The next few weeks would be as much of a trial for them as it was for him.

Sighing lightly, he adjusted his posture and closed his eyes. He was exhausted and dwelling on the possibilities wasn't doing him any good. So, he decided to take a short nap before continuing his cleansing process.

...

His eyes twitched before snapping open. Reaching for his dagger, he turned toward the noise that woke him.

Peering through the trees, he spotted five familiar people, though they cut sorry figures. Trey was supported by Walter and Ben, while Cal did his best to support his brother Jay.

Kade quickly clambered to his feet and jogged over. Grabbing Jay's arm, he draped it over his shoulders to support him back to camp. They laid Jay and Trey on the makeshift pallets. Kade calmly inspected their bodies, his brows knitting the more he noticed.

Jay had many lacerations on his arms and torso, some deep enough to expose the bone beneath. Trey was worse off. He had a few chunks of flesh missing, multiple bit marks, and was missing the middle finger on his right hand.

However, The most disconcerting aspect was the dark hue surrounding their wounds and the sweat on their foreheads, indicating a fever. Their faces were contorted in pain, and they shivered lightly.

"What do we do?!" Cal asked frantically

Kade took a deep breath before speaking calmly "Calm down. First, tell me what made these wounds."

"Two big beasts. They were long and hairy and-"

Kade cut him off. He was speaking too fast, and it was evident that he wasn't thinking clearly. Turning to Ben, Kade asked again. "Calmly, tell me what did this."

Taking some effort to steady himself, Ben replied "They looked like Ferrets. On all fours, they came to Trey's waist, and they were extremely quick. They attacked with their claws and teeth."

Kade nodded "Do you remember anything special or odd about their claws or teeth?"

Frowning pensively, Ben nodded "They had a lot of saliva on their teeth, and their claws were a deep, dark purple color on the tips."

Kade rubbed his brow in thought. Many signs pointed to some type of infection. Be it poison, venom, or bacteria.

So much was unknown that it was difficult to pinpoint the exact cause without making wild assumptions. Acting in haste could exacerbate the situation, but they didn't even know how much time they had.

Something had to be done. But what?

"DO SOMETHING!" Cal yelled as he lunged at Kade, grasping his shirt with tears in his eyes.

Kade responded by placing a hand on the kid's shoulder "Calm down!" He roared while exerting pressure. Cal was forced into a sitting position as Kade loomed over him.

"We need to think this over rationally, and you're not helping. Clear your head and sit to the side. We will let you know when we need your help." Kade said before turning back to Ben.

"What spells do you know?"

"Inferior heal, which is capable of healing most minor injuries. Invigorate, which gives the target energy and can help the body's natural regeneration to an extent. Purify, cleanses the object or person of physical impurities and minor afflictions." Ben replied, listing the spells that related to healing.

"Okay. First, let's slow the bleeding and clean the wounds." Kade said before rummaging in his bag and retrieving a few pieces of cloth. He tossed some to Ben and Walter before turning to Jay. "Explain how Purify works."

Pressing firmly on the lacerations on Jay's ribs. Using water from his canteen, he went from one wound to the next, clearing the dirt and blood.

"It releases light energy that penetrates into the body and acts similar to white blood cells. The light targets anything it thinks is foreign or harmful and slowly burns it away." Ben explained while working.

"Alright, cast Purify on Trey." Kade said, diverting some of his attention to watch.

Ben nodded and channeled his Altaris as he chanted. Four seconds later, a bright light shined on his hand as he pressed against Trey's chest. The light merged into Trey, and after a few seconds, his expression lightened.

A smile crossed Kade's face momentarily before his expression soured. Trey's expression worsened again, indicating he was still afflicted.

"Cast it two more times, back to back."

Ben nodded before doing as instructed. Each time, Trey's condition lightened, but after thirty seconds, his pained expression returned.

'Is there too much built up, or is it proliferating?' Kade questioned as he grit his teeth.

"How much Altaris do you have left?"

"Roughly thirty percent," Ben replied with a solemn expression. "I can cast Purify two or three more times."

Kade shook his head "No. Focus on regenerating your Altaris. Cal, take over for me." He said as he shifted to the side, allowing Cal to take his place.

Kade whistled as he sat beside Trey. After half a minute, Obruo trotted up while tilting his head.

"Scout the area and warn us if something is approaching." Kade said while patting the pup.

Taking a deep breath, he turned his head to Trey. What would come next was incredibly dangerous. He would force his Altaris into Trey's body and use it to sense the situation within. If he made a mistake he could outright kill Trey and he had no idea of the consequences he would face due to backlash.

However, he didn't know what else to do. He was just thankful that this method was available. Three days ago, he had cleared the channels to his right arm, and now just over half of his channels were cleansed. Otherwise, he couldn't even attempt this.

"I need you to hold him down if he starts thrashing around." Kade said solemnly while glancing at Walter.

"Got it." Walter replied with a pale face.

Pressing his palm to Trey's chest, he roused his Altaris which shrouded his hand. Slowly, he singled out a portion and formed it into a small strand before forcing it to meld into Trey's body.

A few seconds passed and all seemed well until Trey's body arched.

"Ugh. AHH." He released a pained groan before Walter forced his body back down.

Kade's brows locked into a V as he worked. He did his best to limit his Altaris in order to lessen the impact on Trey's body, but it still caused damage.

His Altaris was foreign and didn't integrate into Trey's body. His muscles and tissue were obstacles that had to be circumvented or forced through. Doing so caused a bit of damage and was likely painful, but Kade didn't have the knowledge or skill to do this gently.

It was taking everything he had just to control his Altaris, and the further his Altaris moved, the more difficult it became.

This process wasn't going to be easy on any of them, but it had to be done.

Time slowly ticked by, and almost fifteen minutes passed before Kade finally sensed something.

It was another foreign energy, but far more insidious. It spread continuously, contaminating Trey's body and eating away at his muscles and organs.

'Damn. It is multiplying after all.' Kade thought before his brow raised involuntarily. Sensing the energy, he realized that it couldn't pass through his Altaris. It was forced to move around it.

Experimenting, he moved his thread of Altaris and found that he could force the foreign energy around as he liked. This was an important discovery!

While he couldn't cleanse the energy nor the contamination it caused, there was potential to stop its spread and imprison it in a single location.

He quickly extended the thread and moved it into position before flattening it. Next, he supplied his Altaris in an attempt to create a wall to block off the energy.

Suddenly, sharp pain stuck his mind causing his focus to crumble. His Altaris distorted as he lost control. The Altaris that was shrouding his hand split in half, part of it following the thread and merged into Trey's body, while the other half returned to his body.

Chaos broke out as Trey screamed out and thrashed, while Kade clutched his head with his left hand, while his right curled.

"ARGGG. H-H-Help me..." Trey cried out.

Forcing his eyes open, Kade locked onto Trey's face. He was awake! Fighting the immense pain in his head, he barked instructions

"TREY, Listen... Cultivate!" He exclaimed with difficulty "Regenerate... Your Altaris... Circulate it!"

"I-I can't..." Trey cried out. He was in too much pain and could barely focus. Every little movement caused more pain. There was no way he could endure cultivating.

"JUST DO IT!" Kade roared with bloodshot eyes before turning to Ben. "Purify when he..."

His mind went blank before and his eyes clouded over before he fell to the side limply.

'finishes a cycle.' Was his last thought.

...

"Wake up!"

Kade's eyes twitched.

"C'mon bro. Wake the hell up!"

Opening his eyes with struggle, he turned his head toward the noise.

"Jay, Wake up!"

His eyes, initially blurry, slowly adjusted. He saw Walter leaned over Jay while shaking his shoulders.

Rolling over, he tried to push himself up before furrowing his brows while looking at his right hand. Ignoring it and using his left arm to push himself up.

He crawled the few feet between them, bumping into Walter while moving into position. He balled up his left hand before digging his knuckle into Jay's sternum and pressing as hard as he could while rubbing back and forth.

He couldn't figure out why he knew this would wake Jay up, but he was sure it would.

As expected, Jay groaned out and twisted his body before his eyes opened.

"Cultivate Jay!" Walter shouted "It will help!"

Jay's eyes rotated over to Walter before he nodded with difficulty. His face warped as he struggled through the pain and discomfort.

Ben scurried over and pressed his hand against Jay's chest and began casting a spell. As soon as the light disappeared, he did it again in another area.

Kade fought against his grogginess as he watched absentmindedly. A hand gripped his shoulder and gently pulled him back.

"You need to rest. They can handle it now."

Kade looked over finding a familiar youth, but he couldn't remember his name. He couldn't remember a lot of things. Like what was going on, or where he was. Whenever he tried to recall something, his mind would go blank.

Cal frowned while looking at Kade. 'What's wrong with him?' He thought. Kade's eyes were listless and empty, and his actions slow. It was like looking at a toddler.

"Hey, man. Uh, you good?" Cal asked skeptically.

Kade tilted his head to the left slightly but didn't respond.

"Alright, uh... Just. Sleep it off or something." Cal said, mostly to himself as he helped Kade lay down. Whatever was wrong with Kade was beyond him, and the rest of the team was in no position to help.

Plopping down, Cal glanced at his brother before sighing in relief when he saw his brother's countenance improving. He moved his gaze to Trey, and finally to Kade before his head dropped into his hands.

His eyes began to water and his face scrunched. 'This is so messed up.' He thought. Why did life have to be so hard? They didn't want to come to Detrius, but it was the easiest way they could find to escape the abuse.

No, that wasn't true. The others could have got jobs and left, supporting themselves and moving on. It was only him that was trapped. Too young to escape from under that drunks thumb. Detrius was their only escape because when it came to being a champion, age didn't matter as much.

The others became Champions and ventured to Detrius for him... They struggled to fight dangerous beasts, ate shitty food, slept on the cold ground, and got injured for him. They were suffering, all for him.

They gave it all up and came here hoping that things would be better. Their fate was in their own hands now. Yet, it didn't get better. No... Instead, his brother and their friend had almost died today. They even got an outsider mixed up in problems.

'Why... Why is it so hard?!' Cal wallowed in his thoughts, feeling more broken than ever before.