Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death

All that talk about being 'reborn' had been nonsense.

"Joining the Familia means you are cleansed. You abandon your old connections and accept your new life as a member of the Pantheon's Familia," Melach explained while Torb shrugged. "Just take it as starting fresh. Opening a new chapter in your life."

Melach's words droned on, a stream of noise that entered one ear and left the other. David tuned him out but followed quietly as they guided him through the settlement.

"Do I have to vow something? Not a normal vow or whatever, but some sort of binding oath, or whatever," He asked, his mind racing as doubts surfaced.

"There is nothing like that. All that 'reborn' talk mostly concerns the system adjusting a few things. Your memories will remain intact, and nothing about you, as an entity, will be changed."

That didn't sound too bad, though that didn't mean he would mindlessly sign any contracts. He had a good eye for loopholes and was going to make use of everything!

***

"That's it?" David cocked an eyebrow as he infused a trace of holy power into his thumb. His fingertip glowed dimly as he pressed it onto a small ID-sized slate like the one Melach had shown the guards earlier.

[Registration has been completed. Welcome to the Familia!]

"Okay…" His attention drifted to the white slate as his glowing fingerprint merged. A moment later, letters formed on the slate.

Name – David

Race – Human

Affiliation – None

Rank – 1-Star

David's eyes bore into the slate, but nothing else happened. That was… disappointing.

Melach's expression darkened, and before David could make sense of it, Torb stepped in with a casual pat on the elf's back.

"Calm down, buddy," he said, patting Melach's shoulder. "You saw how other humans of this world reacted when they joined the Familia. Was anyone impressed? No. We are in a newly integrated world. Don't forget that."

Melach groaned. "You're right. The natives' senses are still dull. They cannot sense their growing connection to the gods. Still…"

The elf appeared far from satisfied with David's reaction, but David didn't care. Even Torb didn't seem to mind David's carefree attitude.

"Don't mind Melach. Many leave their homes to become Protectors of System Sanctuaries from newly integrated worlds to join the Familia. They abandon everything to feel closer to the gods. Everyone has different reasons for needing the Familia. It doesn't concern you, so I won't bother you with it. Just know that the Familia is a big thing for many."

David nodded and resumed inspecting the ID slate, as he decided to call it. The name wasn't original, but it fit.

"The ranking is very straightforward. 1-Star means you can select 1-Star missions. I am a 2-Star and can select 2-Star solo missions. To pick team missions at 2-Star, your group would require an average star rating of 2-Star or above," Torb explained, ignoring Melach, who had yet to stop sulking. "You can also pick team missions without a team, but your star rating has to be one star above the mission rating."

David mulled over the system, wondering how difficult it might be to reach higher ranks—or if it was worth the effort. The Familia seemed to pay attention to the safety of its members, but their safety net did not help with the Mutant Giant Infected.

"No affiliation means no god vouched for you. In fact, you can also join a god's Familia,accelerating the growth of all Skill Runes related to their power." Torb retrieved his ID slate with a proud smile, showing his affiliation.

Affiliation – Fortress (Dwarven God of Protection)

Melach cleared his throat, drawing David's attention back as he added, "By joining a god's Familia, you can also increase your rank by pursuing other occupations. Lifestyle Classes exist, and you can pick them up as you progress. However, you don't need them to grow stronger. For example, if you join the Alchemy God's Familia, the Rank of your Main Class may still increase by concocting potions."

That was good to know, but David wasn't planning on joining any god's Familia anytime soon. He only joined the Familia because of the benefits. It was also the only place that offered money and skill proficiency for slaying Infected and other magical creatures.

After a few minutes of Torb and Melach explaining how everything worked, they helped David find suitable lodging for the next ten days. The room was small but clean, with a wooden foundation that smelled of fresh polish. The bed looked sturdy enough, though the mattress sagged slightly.

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Arc was bustling with life, but despite the crowds, the innkeeper quickly found him a clean room.

"I will change my clothes, and then we can… I don't know… do something?" David studied the elf and dwarf, who nodded in agreement. He closed the door to his room. But that wasn't enough to muffle the sounds from outside.

"He's a bit crazy. Don't you think that's going to be a problem?"

David's sharp ears picked up Melach's whispered words through the thin door. A smile tugged at his lips as he unpacked his backpack.

He hadn't been like this before the integration, but the Earthen Union's changes had affected him. David wasn't the man he used to be, and he didn't mind. If the Earthen Union wanted him changed, they'd get more than they bargained for.

"He is a Cleric and not afraid of leaving the Sanctuary. You saw him fight. He's like a Warrior mixed with a Cleric. I don't think we can find anyone better. Or do you want to hire one of the Clerics in Arc? That would ruin us. We'd be lucky to earn enough to pay the Cleric and repair our equipment."

Torb said, "I'd much rather have someone crazy by my side than a greedy bastard."

Melach sighed deeply. "I saw him healing himself. I know how good it would be to have someone like him on our team. But what if he enrages the gods while we're with him? He is a living disaster!"

David chuckled at that. He felt like Melach and Torb were good people. They had good reason to question whether to accept him into their team. David understood their worries since he wouldn't want someone like him on his team either.

He snickered while putting on the other clothes he'd brought from the shopping center. Now that his flesh and skin had fully regrown, he dressed quickly, then left his new home with the room key, an empty backpack, his weapons, and a pouch filled with money.

"Are you done contemplating?" David asked lightly. "Did I pass, or are we parting ways?"

"You were eavesdropping?" Melach's eyes narrowed, but David waved a hand dismissively.

"If you didn't want me to hear, you should have stepped away from the door. This place isn't soundproof, and it's not like you even tried to stay quiet. So…what do you say? Is the living disaster allowed to fight with you or not?"

Melach nibbled on his lower lip but nodded. "You can join the team if you want to. I still think it's dangerous to keep you around, but we would've been dead if not for your help against the Giant Infected. You also fight like a mix of two Classes, which makes it easier for us. Torb won't have to endure all the pressure on the frontlines alone, and you can heal him too."

"In that case, I shall join your team. For the time being," David said with a wink at the Elf, who muttered something in what he guessed was the elven tongue.

Torb clasped his hands loudly. "Since that's done, let's move on. You have much to learn before we can accept our next mission."

A lot to learn? No. Let's just fight!

David's expression must have given away his thoughts because Torb looked at him and snickered.

"Sorry, but your lack of knowledge will end up getting us killed. It would be best if you learned enough about the adjacent regions, the dangers, and the surrounding monsters. Not all monsters are hostile, but your world isn't making things easy. The native lifeforms, including plants and animals, are mutating rapidly under the Aether's influence."

David nodded reluctantly. "I know where we are, but you might be right about the danger. I need to know where to find the strongest monsters to fight!"

Melach groaned in exasperation while Torb smiled at David.

"I don't think you know how much the integration has changed. Come on, let's buy a map for you."

The team went on a short shopping spree to buy a recently updated map showing Arc and the surrounding regions. David glanced past the city ruins and focused on the map, a gnawing sense of confusion setting in as his eyes fell upon a certain region. The area was void of streets, villages, towns, or even remnants of the cities that should have been there.

"This can't be right. Wasn't there supposed to be…"

"The integration oftentimes replaces entire regions. That's how it works. Parts of worlds are removed and replaced with aether-dense regions to stimulate the core of an aetherless world," Melach explained. "I don't know much about it, but this is one of their tactics to awaken forsaken worlds."

David gasped for air, the memory of an old friend surfacing.

Didn't he say he was going to move there?

A wave of nausea churned in his stomach.

"Where did everything go? They can't just remove a part of the Earthen Union and throw it aside…right?!"

It was one thing to know his friends and family had a fair chance at survival and a whole different thing to learn that entire regions had been cut out of the Earthen Union and discarded. These people didn't even receive a chance at survival.

"I don't know. Maybe the cities, towns, and villages disappeared, leaving the citizens behind. Or everything was replaced, and the natives of this world were transported to a different world, where they can also gain access to the system."

That didn't sound great, but it was better than certain death.

David's eyes drifted back to the map. He studied where his family was supposed to be, and it looked…okay. Several System Sanctuaries were near their most likely location at the time of the integration into the Pantheon. But there were also dangerous regions nearby. They were framed in red, which couldn't mean anything good.

Then, David's eyes fell upon the purple vortexes etched into the map. Unlike the rest of the map, which was still, the vortexes shifted and swirled unnaturally.

"What exactly are those? They don't give me a friendly vibe…"

Melach and Torb checked the map simultaneously and frowned deeply.

"They're called Rifts…" David noticed Melach's hands trembling violently as he muttered, "But why are they materializing so close to Arc?"

"And so many…" Torb's face drained of all color as he whispered.