Chương 56: 1-55 Questions and beatdowns

Sleep didn't come easily for Josef, but eventually it happened anyway, despite his brain's best attempts to keep him awake with worries and fearful thoughts. Even anxieties could only keep him up for so long before his body claimed its rightful rest. The morning after felt… not good, but better. He didn't know how long exactly he had slept, but he was much more energetic than before. A part of him wondered how some of his physical needs might have changed after evolving his body into a 'Mana Vessel'.

Did his tiredness from before stem more from the physical exertions of the day, or the massive amounts of mana he had moved during the boss fight? How did his magically healed injuries factor into this? On the matter of mana, he also questioned why his heart hadn't progressed after that fight, as it still sat firmly at a three stars rank, despite the massive amounts of energy he had absorbed.

The lack of progress on his body's improvement was understandable enough, having reached five stars after he had used the skill stone from Vasaj, but his heart should have plenty of room to grow. Had the changes to his physical form caused issues on this front? Or had the requirements simply changed away from draining as much mana as possible, since he was now practically made from the stuff?

He would have to try and experiment with his newly improved Mana Drain today, maybe he could figure out the next step to improving himself. After all, the last time his heart had improved, his mana had grown by quite a bit. And one could never have enough magic juice. Especially with his plans to improve his own combat magic. Standing helplessly in front of that elemental's core, unable to finish the job, had instilled in him a need for greater offensive options.

Pretzel's Water Shot was a great beginning, one he hoped to build on to bring out a whole barrage of projectiles, but that wouldn't be the end of it either. The same went for his first spell of the same element, Water Prison. That line of magic had been a great help to him so far, but there was still room for improvement. He was going to fully embrace the destructive side of water. Maybe he could even figure out how to cut with it, given what he had learned about using concepts in spell creation.

Before he could fully immerse himself in wanton destruction, though, he would first handle matters of healing. Specifically, the people in the safe zone, which still required his attention. That thought was enough to drive away the remaining drowsiness and get him off his bedroll. Zippa was already awake, though the poor reptile hadn't gotten up yet. Not for a lack of trying, but because of the ropes that had tightly bound him into his nighttime burrito state.

"If we leave you cocooned for long enough, maybe you will turn into a dragon?" Josef mused loudly as he approached his bound friend.

"Please don't. I'm starving, and nobody else is gonna make our breakfast. Also, morning Jo." Zippa wriggled in what was likely meant to be a greeting.

"Good morning, Zip," he began, unwrapping the lizard burrito.

"If you want a break from cooking, you just gotta ask. I'm old enough to make food without burning anything, or anyone, to the ground, you know?"

"Thanks." The moment his bindings were just the smallest bit loose, the reptile slipped out.

"But I very much enjoy cooking. It helps me stay calm when I can't let off steam in a fight." Seeing as they still had a measure of privacy, as long as they kept their voices low, and with the younger sibling and both elves asleep, Josef decided this might just be his best opportunity to ask the reptile some questions.

"Say, Zip, would you mind answering some questions about yourself?" The lizard turned his head sideways for a moment, thinking. Then, he nodded, though it wasn't clear if the gesture was for himself or Josef.

"Sure, I wondered how long it would take you to ask. What do you wanna know about? My impressive fire, or my nightly troubles? Maybe where I got my incredible looks from? Oh, do you need some recommendations for scale care products?" Fixed under the human's deadpan stare, Zippa just gave a shrug, paired with an innocent smile.

"What, too soon?" Josef annoyedly rubbed the remaining tiredness from his eyes and sighed.

"No, it's fine. I'll have to get used to the change at some point." Then, after a moment of thinking, he added.

"Dark blue, in case you were still wondering."

"I was!" his voice rang out loudly. Snapping his jaws shut, clamping them down with his hands, Zippa worriedly looked around. Thankfully, he hadn't woken everyone up with his outburst.

"Then I'll rely on you when it spreads." And it would, even if the process wasn't fast. There were already more scales on his chest, almost a whole dozen, compared to the handful the day before. Hopefully, he could keep them concealed until they got out of the dungeon.

"Anyway, I did want to ask you about something personal. You once mentioned that there was a special skill running in your family, and I was curious if you would share more about that. Some of my progress has been a little weird ever since my body changed to accommodate an intrusive skill, and I wondered if you had any similar issues." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Zippa awkwardly scratched his head.

"I guess it had to come up at some point. I'll show you the skill once we're in another fight, alright? I don't wanna use it if I can't at least make a monster scream in exchange.

"And I don't know about strange, but it definitely has a way of influencing my life. My blood runs… hotter because the skill has it interact with my fire affinity. Which is why I sleep so restlessly at night. I got the constant urge to move my body, to do something with my hands. To fight." Josef sucked in a surprised breath at that.

"That sounds awful. How come you're…"

"Doing well despite that? I couldn't exactly grow up with this issue without learning to adapt. Our parents were always supportive, and Bezzo did his best too. I probably wouldn't be the same guy without their help. Actually, it was my brother's idea to get me into cooking. It was something about baking our own bread when I'm already an oven with legs." Chuckling silently, Zippa was displaying a nostalgic side he hadn't shown before.

In fact, Josef noticed that this was the first time the guy had ever talked about his parents in front of him. He hesitated, contemplating if it would be alright to ask about them now, or if that would be prying too far. As if picking up on his thoughts, once more showing that the seemingly carefree optimist had remarkable empathy, the reptile shook his head.

"On another day, maybe." An expression slid over his face that Josef couldn't easily place. Sadness? Guilt?

"Besides, I can already hear my brother's stomach rumbling, almost as if he's faking sleep." With that, he cut the conversation short and began making breakfast. The younger sibling still refused to move until the food was well on its way, spreading a pleasant aroma. That was some serious dedication to the act. Or maybe Zippa had actually bluffed and never knew for sure. Once everyone was fed and ready, it was time to tackle the day ahead.

Unfortunately, Aifreed hadn't yet finished analyzing the possible skill gem, though at this point he was at least certain that it did, in fact, contain an ability. Allegedly, high ranking skills, or those with rare transformative properties, were harder to check than something simple, like a resistance. It felt like someone told Josef that Christmas was delayed by a day, but at least he could tide himself over with renewed certainty, and an expectation of a truly rare skill.

Making sure that everything was packed and ready, he double checked that they could leave at any time before he began treating the local adventurers. There was no telling if it would go over as well as the last time, and they didn't want to stick around in case things went sideways. Making their way towards the center of the room, Josef swallowed his anxieties down and loudly proclaimed.

"Listen up, everyone! I'm the independent healer, Adam. I will take care of your wounds for free." As murmurs arose, he quickly cast a weak Regeneration on himself, to show everyone the glow of the restorative magic. Once more, just like on the tenth floor, people were at first reluctant and wary of his offer, but after seeing the first adventurer healed from a badly mangled scar, things got rolling quickly. That, however, was when things turned out differently from before.

Just as they were trying to get people into a queue, instead of surrounding Josef with demands, someone raised their voice.

"Who do you think you are!" an elven adventurer stormed up, shouting angrily.

"How dare you stray from Sanctum's light, spreading false succor to the people!" They had encountered a fanatic believer who had no hesitation about causing a scene. Fortunately, he didn't appear to have any backup, though his words got many people whispering.

"I assure you, my spells work just fine. Nothing false about them." Josef decidedly didn't want to deal with whatever mental gymnastics this man was attempting. Instead, he turned back to his closest patient and continued by casting Regeneration on her, helping to close some gnarly bite marks, which had already begun festering.

"No, reject the false light! Do not let this man fool you. Sanctum is your salvation, all other roads lead to death!" He tried to make a grab for the woman who was too engrossed with the feeling of magic treating her wounds. However, there was little his scrawny arms could do once Zippa threw him to the ground and pinned him.

"I don't care about your Sanctum, or your beliefs. A healer should heal people, not play politics with lives on the line. You can judge on your own, whether my light is right or wrong. I only ask you not to interfere with those who want to be healed, instead of being preached at."

"But Sanctum-" the hysteric shout was cut short, when Bezzo walked up and kicked the restrained man in the ribs.

"Isn't here." Josef finished for the man.

"I heard they came through, but apparently, they didn't care enough to heal anyone. Not even their most devoted believer, or did they?" Perhaps it was their luck, and there simply wasn't much sympathy for those people to begin with, but unrest soon gave way to silent contemplation, as most queued up for treatment. Or maybe adventurers were too pragmatic to refuse free treatment, no matter the circumstances.

That one lunatic eventually found himself tied up and cast aside, the rope used for that having been generously donated by the woman he wanted to grab. He had clearly not made himself any friends with his prior display, even if some might have silently agreed with him. Though Josef wasn't sure if they were in actual agreement, or if some were simply wary of backlash from that organization.

They had already proven their willingness to use violence to make people come to them, so why wouldn't they punish those who sought healing elsewhere? Was Charly aware that her shop might invoke the ire of a cult? Probably, that old lady appeared to be pretty savvy and street-smart. She probably wouldn't have gotten old in a city like Highsend, if she didn't know how to read the general situation.

Once he had wrapped up with healing anyone who cared to approach, which was almost everyone, except for a handful of elves on the side, it was time to go. As his last act before leaving, Josef approached the tied up elf, and healed his ribs, which had bruised badly enough to hamper with his breathing. Someone certainly held a grudge against Sanctum's followers.

"Why?" the man barked through gritted teeth.

"Because you were in pain, and I'm not about to ignore a wound, just because I don't like the guy attached to it." Then Josef smiled ominously.

"Also, I doubt they're gonna untie you anytime soon, so I hope you don't mind the itchiness of healing flesh." As he united with his group, and they walked off to descend to the next floor, he idly noted a notification he received when healing that man. Reading it, he couldn't stifle his laughter.