Doctor Katz

We set down at the edge of the swamp and the block terrain. Looking back, there was just inky blackness. Michelle didn’t have the energy to keep going, so we had landed. Captain Francis was placed in charge of carrying Michael, and Jacob carried the Avatar. He had done something to knock her out thankfully.

The good news was that the hostile energy was gone. Jacob said there was a bit still lingering, but we shouldn’t be overly concerned. Still keeping the bracelets on for now would be the best option.

Unfortunately, the ground was still gooified. Thankfully, there was no water in the swamp, but we had to keep moving at a quick pace. “Back to the Forbidden City or Purgatory?” Captain Francis asked as we moved as quickly as possible. I was impressed with Clarissa. She had the kickoff method of traveling down quite well for someone who wasn’t a fighter. She clearly had a lot of stats.

“Purgatory. I have arranged for a retrieval airboat from the Forbidden City if the energy stops, which it appears to,” Clarissa said. Hopefully the city was still intact.

“Well, that means due South then, reach the road, and then head East. I don’t want to try navigating in the dark,” Captain Francis said.

“Two days of running,” Jacob muttered.

“It could be worse. At least nothing is chasing us,” I replied.

“I am more concerned about the lack of bounce back. Whatever happened, appears to not be going away. The System could be permanently impacted. We know there were no new arrivals in the affected cities,” he said.

“That would solve the population problem,” Clarissa said.

“It also means the stores don’t work, and there are no monsters in these zones to get crystals from. I would say the tradeoff isn’t worth it. Even worse, the situation implies long term damage to the System. Michelle, was the block to the lower layer still present after the battle?” Jacob asked.

“Yes. I tried immediately once the golems stopped and then as we were leaving,” she said.

“Whatever the sphere has done is still lingering behind then. Creating a lasting impact. I suspect the ground will resolidify, and over time things might change, but the energy decrease from the sphere is too little. Or well, I should say that the sphere’s energy is going away, but the system’s energy isn’t coming back,” he said.

“You didn’t think to mention this, in regard to the Avatar before?” Clarissa asked.

“I had to think it all through, and we brought her. We need to be planning a follow up mission. Creating a portal to the lower layer, going through, seeing what’s wrong, fixing it, and coming back,” Jacob said.

“You think we are on a time limit?” Clarissa asked him.

“How long until the next disaster? If the System is struggling, then another sphere or something worse could show up,” he said.

“Are we sure we killed it? Remember that one monster that used decoys?” Captain Francis asked.

“I remember that one, since I had to figure that out. It would make sense based on its power. Or the true form is in the lower layer,” Michelle said. Everyone went silent at that. We hadn’t been able to do anything against the sphere. Michael had won at great cost. If that was just a decoy, proxy, or not the final form, then we had no chance.

“Good thing I got a sample. I should be able to figure something out from it. Have about ten days at the rate it is burning up, give or take,” Jacob said.

“That will be the new priority. Any idea on when Michael will wake up?” Clarissa asked as we continued to run.

“No. And while Jacob could force him awake, it is better to let him sleep for at least a day. Let his body recover slightly. If he hasn’t woken up by then, we can try other things,” I said.

“I respectfully disagree. It would be best if he woke up sooner to actively resist what has been done to him, before it has a chance to set in,” Jacob said.

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“His arm would be a long-term project to recover. And the chest damage would be the same,” I replied.

“I agree with that. But something you might not have noticed, is that his stats were impacted as well. That hit he received on the chest, damaged them heavily. At least the Body stat,” Jacob said.

“Body stats do strengthen the body slightly, but it is mostly force manipulation. It is mental, not physical,” I countered.

“I am talking about the physical and the energy overlay. It isn’t something easily worked out, but I ran tests to check his Body, both physical and his stats. His lungs are struggling to breathe, which is weakening him,” Jacob said. I went over to Captain Francis, timing our movements, and put my hand on Michael’s chest.

Imbue Life. I frowned as Jacob was right. “The issue is his heart that was near the strike zone. That isn’t good. Can we stop?” I asked.

“I am out of energy to make summons,” Michelle said.

“We would sink into the ground, we have to keep moving,” Captain Francis added in.

“What is the problem, exactly?” Clarissa asked.

“Stats, they impact the body to a slight degree, but are mostly mental. They also do a lot of things subconsciously or supported by the System. Probably the first one. The impact of that shard at the end, has disrupted that. It is creating an imbalance across his body. Where the stats are less effective where he was struck and radiating out from there,” I explained.

“It is worse than that. I suspect it is spreading. There is contamination in his energy. We fixed the worst of it, and his physical body is fine. But, that shard impacting his chest, was like a piece of uranium from a reactor hitting a person. Instead of super cancer, he has the energy equivalent,” Jacob explained.

“He cannot die. Him being crippled is only slightly better. The fallout from such a thing, would be immense. What can be done?” she asked.

“I am struggling here, this is more your area,” I said to Jacob.

“Something like this can be induced, but fixing it is much harder. He has the highest stats, which is why we need to wake him up. To push back on the energetic cancer,” Jacob said.

“Which means you want to increase his heart rate and shock him. With his stats in disarray, which could kill him. Especially, since we need to keep moving,” I countered.

“It is a risk. But his energetic condition will only get worse,” Jacob said.

“He needs time to get more blood. His pressure is low. While I have patched up his externals and internals, it needs time to replenish his blood. Rushing to wake him up now, could cause his heart to fail with the pressure you plan to put on it,” I said.

“Jacob, how much time does he have?” Clarissa asked.

“I need to check, take her please,” he then handed the Avatar off to Clarissa who took the woman and went next to Captain Francis. He then put a hand on Michael to check his condition.

“It is hard to say. Things are slightly worse, but with his stats, it is hard to tell when the point of no return is. As his stats decline, his physical condition will improve. I can’t say when the optimal point would be to attempt to revive him. Doctor Katz, your thoughts?” Jacob asked me.

“The more time the better on the physical side. I can’t sense what Jacob is doing, so he is the expert in that regard. I can tell that his physical condition is being impacted by the disruption in his stats. I can’t tell how quickly things will degrade,” I said. Everyone was silent as Clarissa considered the various medical opinions on what to do.

No one questioned that she had the authority to make the decision for Michael. He trusted her quite a bit and she was focused on his survival. Also, there was no one else who would survive the fallout if something went wrong but he lived.

“Can you keep him alive, if he is woken up?” Clarissa asked me.

“I can try, but I am running low on energy as well. I have had to use my skills heavily. I budgeted enough to make sure I could keep him alive until we got back. If he is woken up, and the complications are too much, or things get worse, I don’t have the energy,” I replied.

“We wait until we get someplace stable. Trying to wake him up while we are moving is foolish. Once we reach Purgatory, we can wait for the airboat there, or try and enter the city. If things get worse let me know, and I will reassess,” she ordered.

That was probably the best decision with all the unknowns we were dealing with. Also, there was the risk Michael would wake up and panic. But I knew Clarissa wouldn’t even care about that risk. She would sacrifice Captain Francis a hundred times over, if it would save Michael. There was just too much riding on him, to let him die.

We began to hit some more water as the ground became slightly harder. There was also the smell, but none of us complained. For such a climatic battle, it was a miracle that only Michael was injured and no one else. I had been fully expecting that someone, or multiple people would have died. But Michelle had done an amazing job covering us with her summons to provide protection.

The fact she was completely out of energy was a testament to how well she managed herself in combat. While I would like to think I was capable in a fight, she was incredibly skilled and knowledgeable about how to deploy her summons.

“At least there are no monsters,” Captain Francis said.

“Things might fix overnight to a certain degree, will have to wait and see. The System operates on many different time periods. The midnight reset will be interesting. Especially if some areas at the edge of the energy wave are reclaimed,” Jacob said.

“Is he still stable?” Clarissa asked. Jacob and I both gave an affirmative. The only thing left to attempt was to wake him up. Medical intervention on my end to improve his condition was no longer possible. All I could do was to keep him stable.