Chapter 280 - Parasitic Core (part 1)

Crash.

After what seemed like an eternity and just a fraction of a second at the same time, I was finally freed from the void that swallowed me when I ordered the teleportation.

This experience alone showed me the real difference between the spirit realm cultivators and saint ones. What was common amongst the higher tier, was simply deadly for my current rank.

I honestly have no idea how did I survive the jump through the shattered space, with my body already nearing the state of complete necrosis of all my tissues. I could only guess that it had to do with either the entropy that poisoned me or the fact that it was already hard to put me closer to the death than I was before teleporting.

And that had nothing to do with my physical resilience.

Eve.

Looking around, I tried to spot where did she end up after the teleportation, only to realise that I was somehow still holding her close.

My emotions were in a state of such disarray, that I didn't even realise the fact that I never stopped healing her!

But it didn't really matter.

With her consciousness already gone, I could only fight the losing war to keep the spark of life within her for as long as the system would take to reboot and hopefully offer some solution.

Unable to use the healing both at Eve and myself at the same time, I could only gnash my teeth as my body continued to slowly dissolve.

Every breath that I took, seemed to quicken the rate at which my entire self deteriorated, mind included. The pressure of being unable to save the most important person in my life wasn't something that I was ready to deal with.

God, I never get those 'decorations' that were supposed to guide me. Instead of that, my situation kept forcing my hand to dive headfirst into the shithole of troubles. If I can ask for anything, then save her life!

In this moment of prolonged desperation and powerlessness, I could only pray.

"Blop!"

"The system successfully rebooted."

Bonger! Quick, do something to save her!

There was no time for being kind or formal. If this system was worth absolutely anything, it should at least be able to read my state of mind. Considering how it left me all alone in foreign word without the most important guiding tool already undermined my trust in it, but I didn't have anyone or anything else to turn to right now.

"Blop!"

"Target life force is already dried up. The system is unable to provide techniques capable of reconstructing it, neither would be host capable of executing them."

"This system feels sorry for your loss."

What?

What the actual fuck?

Are you going to tell me that I endured this gutwrenching pain doing my best to keep her alive, and now you will just shrug it off with condolences?

You said that her life force dried up, but didn't outright call it the death. So if I would be powerful enough, I would be able to save her?

"Blop!"

"Due to entropy poisoning, the host will never be able to execute white rituals."

"Continous usage of mana while entropy poisoned will only lead to faster deterioration of the host's state."

"It's advised to refrain from using mana until full recovery!"

To hell with this kind of advices!

Eve's body was still hot, so hot as if she was enduring some kind of strong fever. While it obviously wasn't a good sign, it proved that she was still alive! How could I stop using heal in that case? Even if I were to turn into a puddle of stinking, liquified flesh, as long as it was enough to save her, I'm down for that trade!

"Blop!"

"Registering host determination."

"Unlocking hibernation chamber."

"Using the hibernation chamber requires pure mana. Due to entropy poisoning, the host is unable to provide it."

"Calculating the paths."

Paths? You mean, skill trees that you were so stingy with?

"Calculation finished."

"Operation requires using the patient as the purificator for the host's mana in order to create a hibernation chamber."

"Chance of patient's survival: 3%"

What the hell is that low percentage?! Do you think I'm willing to take such bet? There surely is some other method, that won't require forcing Eve's dying body to serve as the filter for the poison that was surely capable of killing me!

Wait, how about this parasitic core? Can it purify my mana?

As if heavenly divination graced me, I saw the name of the book that I spent so many of my spell points on. Since it was a core, it surely has some major function in mana flow!

"Blop!"

"Using the parasitic core as the energy supplier has a 77% chance of succeeding, albeit an 89% chance of both the host and patient dying in the process."

"Using parasitic core in a foreign land can only lead to a swift death."

For fuck sake, stop with those riddles!

Groaning from the pain that was swiftly making me unable to think or reason, I continued pressing my mana to the formation of the heal spell. For as long as I was capable of driving my energy, I would never stop!

You said there are seventy-seven percent chances of success, isn't that right?

"Blop!"

"Yes. Using parasitic core can provide a vast amount of energy pure enough to form hibernation chamber."

"Using the parasitic core will cause the local habitat to deteriorate, most likely going to incite retaliation from local lifeforms."

"Judging from the mana density of this location, the host is unable to defend against it."

So that's why it put this option only after the first one. I guess I couldn't expect for Bonger to carry about anyone else but me.

Frankly, I don't care. How do I use this core?

"Blop!"

"Host needs to bury it one meter into the ground and sprinkle it with a droplet of his blood."

That was more than enough for me. Even if I were to die in just a few moments, as long as there were better chances of keeping Eve alive, I was down to literally everything!

Taking out the booklet that contained the parasitic core, I was about to grab it with the bare fingers of my left hand, while continuously casting the healing on Eve with my right one. Even if I was about to find a method to keep her alive, getting all excited would only cause me to lose my focus and let go of this last spark of life that still lingered in the body of my significant other.

Unable to care about appearances or betraying my position to the predators from the top of the local food chain, I softened the earth with a conservative cast of burial.

This time, it took me seventeen attempts before I succeeded.

As I tried to pluck the core from the booklet, I wanted to grab and plant it, but my palm met with a powerful barrier, making so that I could only see it's texture instead of feeling it with my own fingertips

Crack.

While it initially looked like a tough cookie to casually swallow, I simply ignored the pain when my fingers were instantaneously ripped of flesh, with only the bones remaining.

To be honest, I have no idea how I managed to even grab the small, round object from within the booklet if no muscles remained to move the bones!

Considering the hardships bound to appear when pulling that thing off its container, I expected some sort of energy to wash through me the moment it was freed, but no matter how long I stared at it while holding it simply in the air, nothing happened!

"Blop!"

"The core is destabilising. The host needs to plant it as soon as possible!"

Oh, so I just didn't notice that something was going on.

Not willing to stall for time for no reason, I dropped this small, round object inside the hole made with my burial spell.