Chapter Thirty-Three After Battle (Patreon)

With the creature dead, Amy set aside her last notification. That could wait, first thing first. She turned towards Thomas and knelt beside him. He was an idiot, but he was also her brother. Amy needed to know for sure that he was going to be alright. In some respects, he was lucky that the Armalisk decided to use him as a projectile. Amy was lucky he wasn’t dead, she didn’t want to lose her only blood.

He noticed her kneeling and tried to speak only to trigger a coughing fit. She reached out to touch her brother. His armor was intact, but even over that she could feel how he winced at her touch. Gingerly she checked him over, finding quite a few bruises and a couple of tender spots. Thankfully that seemed the extent of his injuries, as she found no sign of broken bones. That was one worry off her mind. Tension she hadn’t even noticed drained from her bones and she glanced at Mara.

Mara was sitting on the ground resting, “Thank you for stopping that thing. I don’t think we could have moved Thomas in time.”

She gave a wry grin, “It wasn’t easy. Good thing the foul beast was injured, otherwise I don’t think I could have stopped it. Its strength was truly monstrous, it damn near overpowered me.”

Amy shifted into a proper sitting position, “Well it is an Armalisk. I only know what I have been told about them, but they are living siege weapons known to easily knock down town walls. That tail of theirs also contains a powerful  venom, a paralytic if I recall correctly.”

“Guess that explains why it was so tough, I don’t think any of us were doing any real damage. Aside from that mage. I wonder who killed it?”

“That would be me,” said a female voice. Amy turned to the sight of a young woman she had seen before, but hadn’t spoken with before. She was one of the adventurers that had signed on with the caravan. She was fairly tall, a little under one-eighty if she had to guess. She had long brown hair that she kept in a practical braid and sharp features that looked fairly good on her. Amy noticed her fairly large bust as well, which was barely constrained by her mage robes. The robes she wore were well decorated bearing the marks of a tri-elemental master with mastery in Celestial, Lightning, and Earth Magic. Amy didn’t often see mages openly wear such marks, outside of formal occasions. These were clearly combat robes however with marks woven in.

Amy introduced herself and her party.

The woman smiled, “I’m Susan, B Rank Adventurer and future Archmage.”

“I um, see. I wasn’t aware any B ranks had joined this Caravan.”

“Well you should be honored and thankful I did. I’m sure you wouldn’t have enjoyed what that Armalisk had in mind. Speaking of the Armalisk, I noticed your archery and am impressed. Level 18 is rather low, but with your talent I expect you to rise through the ranks quickly. In fact I would love to take you on as a student.”

Amy blinked, “You want to take on me and my party?”

Susan gave her a look, “No, the offer is for just you. Not the trash you are in a party with.” she glanced at Thomas, “And certainly not that idiot. Although it was amusing watching him be used as a projectile.”

Amy felt a rush of heat, and she glared at the woman. “NO THANK YOU! I’ll make my own way.”

Susan scoffed, “It’s your loss.”

She walked off, avoiding the dead and injured. Not even stopping to check on any of the injured she passed. At least she had the decency not to walk on them. Amy knew her type. Regardless she was curious enough to use Inspect.

Name: Susan

Gender: Female

Race: Half-Celestial Human

Level: 88

Age: 38

Health: 100% (Perfect Health)

Class: Minor Mage of Heaven’s Wrath

Shields: 70,000/70,000

Subclass:

Mana: 61,000/66,000

Titles:

It seemed despite her attitude she may at least have some skills. She was level 88 afterall, almost an A rank. No wonder her spells had done so much damage to the Armalisk, she was more than twice its level. That little bit of information brought another question to mind. What the heck had she been doing? As it had taken a while for that first spell to land. Amy glanced at all the injured adventurers, and guards. In fact if that arrogant, rude woman had acted sooner, quite a few people might have been spared what happened.

Eri spoke up, “I hate that woman.”

“You know her?”

“Unfortunately, I met her when Mom hired her. Although I think the only reason Mom agreed to take her on, is because she is her best friend’s cousin or something like that. I wasn’t paying much attention.”

“I see...” said Amy, not sure what to say. After a moment she let out a breath. They had spent too long sitting here. “As much as I would like to keep sitting here, we need to help out. Get tents set up and move the injured where they can rest and be treated.”

She turned to Eri, “Did your mom hire any healers?”

Eri puffed up, and smiled, “Sure did! We have one, although she can be a little... Weird.”

Amy blinked, “Weird? Care to define that?”

“I think you will figure it out soon enough.”

Amy decided not to further pursue conversation and moved to help with the clean up. While cleaning, she took a chance to give her notifications a quick look through. Nothing she saw really stood out to her, but she had the brief feeling that there was something odd in there. She pushed that aside and picked up the nearest injured adventurer.

Brutal Armalisk Lv 40 has cast charm

Trait ??? has activated.

Charm had no effect

Brutal Armalisk Lv 40 has cast charm

Trait ??? has activated.

Charm had no effect

You have assisted in killing a Lv 40 Brutal Armalisk

Level Up!

Skill Piercing Shot, increased one rank, and two grades
Skill Magical Shot, increased one rank
Skill Quick Draw increased two grades

Skill Quick Draw has ranked up

Trait ??? is inactive again

Amy adjusted the young woman she had carried on the cot. It was the poor girl whose boobs had gotten sliced by the monster. Other than the surprisingly deep cut across her breasts, she seemed fine. Well, other than the fact that she wasn’t moving despite being clearly awake. Amy could see it in her eyes. The poor girl couldn’t even lift a finger, the only thing she could do was look around, but she seemed strangely calm despite being paralyzed.

Amy figured the poison would wear off eventually and that the other injuries would be more pressing, but she figured she would let the healer know that she was here. A rather strange woman from the brief impression she had of her. Although for some reason Amy was having a hard time putting her finger on why exactly she was so strange.

Only to find the healer entering the room, just as she turned. Her bare breasts bounced slightly as she moved. For a moment that struck Amy as odd, but then she ignored it. The very thought slipped from her mind. “This one of the girls that was poisoned by the Armalisk?”

Amy nodded, “She was.”

The naked woman moved around her and soon fingered the deep cut in her boob, “Hmm, he got her pretty deep. I’ll need to sew this wound closed, before I cast any spells.”

“I see. I’ll, uh, go...”

She interrupted, “Stay, I’m going to need your assistance.”

Amy frowned, “What for? I’m not any good with a needle?”

The healer giggled, “I don’t need help with her boobs. It’s the poison, we need to purge it before it starts doing its thing.”

Amy cocked her head, as her face scrunched up, “Um, can’t we just wait for it to wear off? It’s just a very potent paralytic right?”

The healer sighed, “You don’t know much about Armalisks, do you?”

“Just what I have been told, why?”

The healer produced a bag out of seemingly nowhere, but Amy recognized an inventory skill when she saw one. “Well, Armalisk venom is actually quite nasty with differing effects depending on the gender of the victim. In males, its effects are typically fatal, but for females? Well let’s just say it’s a mind, and body-altering substance and leave it at that.”

Amy had a strong feeling that she didn’t want to know, but when the healer started preparing some equipment, she asked, “Um, what exactly does that mean?”

“Well the Armalisk is rather unusual given that it is a created monster and not one born of dungeons like every other monster. Thankfully it’s not one of the truly despicable ones like the child-eating serpents. Those things are utterly detestable. Dealing with the aftermath is never fun.”

Amy frowned, “How is that relevant?”

The healer sighed, “Well, the Armalisk was created by a mad mage. One recruited by his liege to create a weapon to destroy his enemies. That leader should have chosen his words more carefully, as he got something that didn’t exactly fit his wishes. All he had wanted was a living siege weapon able to absorb massive amounts of damage and knock down walls. What he got instead ultimately destroyed his kingdom.”

Starting to get interested in what was obviously the short version of a story, Amy asked, “How?”

“Their venom, and namely its effect on females. It changes them both mentally and physically to serve the Armalisk. Not only are they breeding stock for the monster, but then there is what they start doing to males of their own species.”

Amy’s frown deepened, “What do they do?”

“Nothing you would care to know. Trust me. I’ve told you everything that you need to know. Anything more and you would wish I hadn’t told you. Now I’ll need you to remove your top armor.”

Amy blinked, “huh!? What!? Why would I remove my...”

“I need clean blood, untainted by the toxin. I believe yours will do quite nicely for my purposes.”

Amy gave her a look, “my blood!? Wait! Are you planning to use blood magic? Isn’t that forbidden?”

The healer giggled, “Blood magic actually has a number of perfectly legal and accepted medical applications. Of course, only people licensed by the guild are actually allowed to practice it.”

“I see,” replied Amy as she processed the new information.

“In case you are worried, here is my guild card.” The girl produced a card from nowhere and handed it to Amy. Amy glanced over it, and could feel the magic telling her this was legit. It was stamped with the royal markings of the Rosewood Empire. That marked this card as being from a royal guild.

Name: Aidera

Affiliation: Rosewood Royal Healer’s Guild

Gender: Female

Rank: C

Race: Human (???)

Special License: Blood Magic, Mind Magic

There was something odd about the card however, but Amy could not put her finger on what, and after a moment it just didn’t seem important. With a sigh, she reached for the fastenings and started removing her armor.

Amy adjusted herself a bit, as she slipped the last of her armor back on. Beside her the injured young woman was breathing better, and had slipped into sleep. Aidera said that was a good sign, and that she would be alright. The venom was gone and she simply needed some rest before she could go back to her normal life. Idly it occurred to her that the whole procedure was a blank. Last thing she remembered was starting to take her armor off, but she could not find a reason to be concerned about that. So the oddity slipped from her mind.

Aidera was by the door, and said, “Thanks for the help. I’d like to talk more with you later. Meet me at my tent tomorrow when night falls.”

Amy nodded, “I will.”

Aidera smiled, “Great! I’ll see you later.”