TAOTB) Chapter 4) It's All Real (Patreon)

The sun rose, and the two of us got dressed. But before we could leave, the swords I ordered were already being delivered. The old man himself had come to deliver them. “Little lady, here you go. Do you want me to bring them inside?” 

“Do you mind? You can just leave everything in the front entry.” I felt a little bad, but I had no choice at this time. After all, Chloe and I have yet to get the medical herbs we need.

The old man was wearing normal clothes which hid his muscles. For someone with a beard and up in age like he was, he really was well-built. He also did not look half bad if you were into that kind of thing. You know, one of those older dandy guys that make some girl’s hearts throb. As for me, I was fine with my Chloe for now. Later on, two more girls will join in as well, but I am not sure how well it will go down.

“Sure thing.” I am sure Darrel thinks he is taking advantage of me. I would tell him I know a magical kind of medicine that will make you stronger in just a few days, but he would think I was crazy. But I guess guilt is something he is feeling at this time. But they had a strict no-return policy after all, and I did not plan to return anything anyway. So even if he did feel bad and offered as an exception, I still would not do so.

After Darrel left, I locked the door, held Chloe’s hand, and made our way to the traditional chinese medicine store. This place was called Ming’s TMC and was another place that would soon be booming with business once they figured out how to use herbs to boost fana intake. 

“Miss, how can I help you?” An old chinese man, named Xia Ming, walked over. He was the spitting image of what you would expect to see in a TMC shop. He had a long white beard and stroked it as he talked. It really made me smile. 

“Yes, can I get as much of these herbs as you have?” I asked as I handed over a list. 

He looked at it while still stroking his beard and furrowed his brow. “You know if you mix some of these together, it will be poisonous, right?” 

“Yes, I know. So I would like it if you could package them separately.” I gave the old man a teasing smile. 

He let out a laugh as he looked at me. “Alright, I will get them now. But just so you know it will be a lot we are talking about thirty pounds each. But I can also help deliver them if you would like.” 

“I would appreciate that.” I really hated being so weak, but soon, this would all change. 

When the first monster raid hit this city, I was still getting used to my bodily changes, but with my newfound strength, I killed and survived. I have no idea how many people I saved at that time. I only wished not to die. It was already painful enough to go through the transformation. But not even a few days later, I was covered in open wounds from the claws and jaws of monsters. 

At that time, I was unsure of what was going on. I had rushed out of the house once I was able to move to try to get the doctor. But what I found was a city in chaos, people running for their lives as monsters that were as tall as buildings, destroyed buildings and killed without restraint. What was strange was some of these monsters were no different from their previous appearance. It was the first time I had ever seen people die up close, but my thought was my own survival. 

It was also during this time that Chloe and I were on the outs. I did not even think about her as I fought with the monsters attacking me. Some were as tall as me. I was only lucky not to be seen by the large monsters that stomped over the city.

Two months. It was two months of hell until what we called later on, disaster class monsters, had finally left the city. It was as if they were just passing through. The towns outside the city were all decimated. Trains of refugees began making their way towards the city. 

Luckily, food and water were easy to find. So, no one was starving to death. As the monsters were slowly cleared from the city by what was left of the police and those who were willing to help, myself included, People began to pick up their lives a little. 

I was one of the few lucky ones whose building was not fully smashed up. The city quickly became a location of many tents. I wish I could say that there were no bad eggs during all this mess, but there were. I even had someone try to break into my apartment in the middle of the night. 

This was an incident I would never forget due to the fact that it was the first time I killed a human. I was still not used to my strength and blasted two of the three men out of my house with a single punch, sending them flying through the walls of the neighboring apartment and out into the open air. It should be said I was living high up in the building, so falling from such height was death. And this was all just from the wind pressure I had built up.

As for the last man…. My fist was covered in blood. Not just my fist but the whole front side of my body since I aimed for the head and blasted it clear off the man’s shoulders. Now, I guess killing monsters nonstop will make one used to seeing lots of blood. Although it was a human that I just killed in such a brutal way, I did not feel much of anything. To me, they were just another form of monster. The biggest thing was the fact that there was no punishment for what I did. Of course, I did apologize to my neighbor, who, from that day forward, avoided me like the plague.

- - -

It was evening time. And after a few rounds with my little wifey, it was time for the pain to take over. I bought two large wooden tubs. They were now sitting in my living room. Chloe and I were both standing there with our clothes off, staring at the dangerously looking-red liquid that was bubbling up. I was not looking forward to this since the first bath in this solution of herbs was the worst. 

“Chloe, the pain we are about to experience will be immense. But I promise that if you bear with it, even if you pass out, your strength will jump tenfold. Just trust me on this.” I gave Chloe a serious look. She simply nodded with a bit of fear and hesitation in her eyes. But I was not going to let her think she couldn’t do it.

“Alright, let’s do this together. Are you ready?” I looked at Chloe, who nodded her head, and then both of us stepped into the tubs. And quickly submerged ourselves into the steaming hot water. 

Seconds went by, and then… “Ah!” Chloe let out a cry of pain. I also did the same. The pain was just as bad as I remembered. I did my best to watch Chloe. This girl’s face was turning almost blue from the pain, but she was still willing to endure. She had yet to know what was going on since I made her run around all day, but here she was, putting her entire trust in me and taking the challenge head-on.

Minutes that seemed like hours ticked by, and then, forty-five minutes later, the red water turned black as the toxins in our body slowly got expunged. I knew I would need to wash my hair and face after this since toxins came out of all my pores. Chloe was no different from me. Surprisingly, she actually stayed awake during the entire process.

“Reni…. How many more times do we need to do this?” Chloe seemed to be in despair.

“We will need to do it again before bed. But the pain is not so bad now, right?” I asked to make sure everything was normal on Chloe’s side.

“Mmm… After the initial pain, It slowly started to diminish, but it was still very bad. I almost passed out a few times.” Chloe answered. “To be honest, I do not want to go through it all again. But I will listen to you. So….. Reni, can you explain to me why we are suffering like this?”

I helped Chloe out of the bathtub. We both smelt pretty bad, but it was not enough for me not to help her to the bathroom so we could wash off. Luckily, I bought plastic and set everything up accordingly. 

As we rinsed off, I took a deep breath and said: “Chloe. I knew that you would confess to me yesterday. I knew that you loved me. Not because of any kind of signals. But because you have done so before. I know I sound crazy, I know it sounds like something out of a fantasy story, but listen closely and let me explain.” 

I slowly began telling my story. I did not go into any gory details, but I did explain about my past life. I can officially call it a past life now that I have gone out and seen people I should not know, and the medicine bath actually worked. I now know everything I went through was very real. 

As I talked, Chloe did not say a word. She only listened silently. She listened to everything I had to say. Even as the hours passed, her focus did not waver. “And that was when I died….”

I looked at Chloe, who had tears rolling down her cheek. She did not say a word before jumping into my embrace. She cried so hard she could not say a single word. I just held her small frame in my arms and waited. But I felt slightly relieved at the same time. This meant my little wife believed me…