Chapter 117: Day 250 (6) – Compassion is Death

Chapter 117: Day 250 (6) – Compassion is Death

“What? But why? Who would do such a thing?” He really didn’t know who I was. It was both sad and hilarious at the same time.

“That was my decision doctor. I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Champion Michael, ruler of the city of Purgatory.” I could see the surprise on his face which quickly left.

“I am Doctor Benjamin Katzberger, but most people call me Doctor Katz.” There was a long period of silence before he spoke again. “Why is charity illegal?”

“The simple fact is that there is a constant crystal crisis. There is also an impending housing crisis. The city cannot afford to waste crystals healing people when they need to be put towards upgrades and combat capable people with skills. I mean system skills, not life skills. Until today, there has been no need for a doctor.”

“But the people suffering?” People were always suffering. Here it was just more visible.

“Unless they are a skill holder or a member of the guard, their lives don’t matter against the entire city. This was the first organized attack the city has suffered, and I am sure it won’t be the last. To put it in perspective, a city gate costs 100,000 points. Getting 1,000 stat upgrades costs 2.6 million points. While the injured people probably cost, what to heal?”

“About 5,000 to 9,000 for the worst of them.” Far less than me. How frustrating.

“That adds up. Multiply that by however many people and it becomes an issue of ongoing triage for the entire city. I would not condemn people to death, but there is no other choice. If you find a better solution, let me know.”

“If a person gets these crystals and points themselves and chooses to give them away?”

“There are limited amounts of monsters. In time these areas will become more and more contested as people fight for points just to eat. For the system store is the only source of food unless people resort to cannibalism, which they have in other cities. That is why charity was made illegal beyond the initial restoration people are given and orientation for their first 10 days. That and the unplanned pregnancies.”

It was exhausting explaining this, but it was a good way to take my mind off the pain. My bandaged feet stubs throbbed. “Is the situation really that bleak Michael?”

“It is Champion Michael and yes. If you find another way for long term stability let me know. No one has managed to come up with anything. The most people seem to be able to do is hope the situation will change. That isn’t happening.”

“How do you know Champion Michael?”Ñøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

“It is the progression of the monsters, crystals, store, and overall power. There is a reason my branch of government is named the Immortal Council.”

“I can’t stand by while people suffer and die when I could help them.” Your morality will only last so long in this place unfortunately.

“An idealist. Well, I guess for a doctor that makes sense. You truly stand by your words and would risk your life for others?”

“Yes. I am not afraid. I did two tours in Iraq as a combat surgeon.” Wow, this guy was the real deal. I stared at him, and he resolutely stared back at me. He was in good shape, but most doctors were from my experience.

“I think you are naïve and stupid.”

“My parents said the same thing when I joined the military.”

“Thank you for the opportunity. If there are any issues with the bandages, let me know.” Doctor Katz then left my room and I let out a sigh.

I began to peel everything off. My nice outfit was completely ruined. I was completely ruined. Purgatory was completely ruined. I tossed the ruined clothing into a pile off to the side.

I looked at my left hand. Yeah, hitting blue slimes, a bad idea. Everything hurt. The pain from my foot stumps was constantly throbbing. Like needles and hammers digging and pounding away at my flesh. Acid was a horrible way to die or be injured.

I wanted to think about how I would fight the Ritualist but was too exhausted. I had said I wanted a huge invasion, but brute force, was a sub-optimal approach in my mind. I just couldn’t think of anything better against hordes of monsters and traps.

I lay there contemplating my utter stupidity in entering the tunnel. The chests, I should have broken them first. But I didn’t want to risk melee and didn’t want to waste energy for an Acid Shot. The increased cost was really hurting me with my Spirit stat only being 100.

Slimes could compress into barrels. What other things about monsters had I missed? Monsters could safely interact with one another apparently. That was a bit of tactical genius on the Ritualist’s part. Slimes riding on top of wolves.

The next mistake was not retreating immediately, but I would have been caught in the slimes when they exploded out of the chests then. If he had just two more slimes in the middle of the tunnel, I would have been completely engulfed and killed for sure.

This was complete bullshit! Hundreds of monsters at this command. Can sense through them. It was incredibly overpowered. In fact, the sheer power of summoning was insane. There had to be a drawback of some kind. I couldn’t accept there was such a powerful ability with no drawback.

If there was no drawback, then I was behind the Ritualist in terms of combat. There would be only losses and defeat in my future.

What if it was possible to summon death? I was glad I had turned in that crystal for the points. If I had kept it and it had been stolen or sold it, things could have been far worse. That didn’t bear thinking about. Perhaps the scaling made it impractical in some way. Preparation was an obvious drawback.

Probably an energy cost of some kind. Maybe an upkeep, but I couldn’t decide one way or the other with how many monsters there had been. What were his stats?

I thought back on the conversation I had with Chase, or the Ritualist now. Everything seemed off and declaring that Chase was dead, and he was the Ritualist pointed at deeper issues. I just didn’t know him well enough or his background. With Ken dead, I could ask Louis.

I needed an estimation of how many stats he had. That was something I would follow up in the morning. The biggest issue was where to grind. I had no good idea right now.

I swore after this, I would keep a million points in reserve. No more being crippled and not having the points. At least 1,000 points for every stat point in Body, minimum. Preferably 2,000 points per Body stat so I could cover a lot of healing if I needed it. Back-to-back healings, so I could fight off whatever nonsense came my way and be back on my feet instantly.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I mentally swore a much deeper vow. I was going to kill the Ritualist. If he wanted a title, then he could have his title. I would make him choke on it. You won this round, but you didn’t finish me off. Giving me time to recover and flee was your biggest mistake. If you aim to kill someone, make sure you do it right.

I was still kicking myself about how I had ordered his death, but he was somehow still alive. This time I would follow the rule of, if it has its head, it isn’t dead.

He must have faked being strangled and none of us noticed. How idiotic is that? Well, I had never seen someone strangled in real life, and the guard probably hadn’t strangled people either. I guess a CIA operative might have a professional certification in strangling. Get your strangle certificates, just three easy classes.

Missing something like that gnawed at my very soul. Mistake after mistake and I missed it all. The city was ruined, people died, and I was crippled and in pain. Laying on my bed, my thoughts kept going in circles. What if? Should have? I couldn’t sleep, the pain kept me awake as I just lay there. Almighty System, the pain was horrific. I mentally apologized to how people felt before they were melted. This was far worse than anything I had ever felt.

I tried to clear my mind, focus my breathing, nothing helped. What I needed was a pain killer or someone to use the Sleep skill on me. Ah, but I would probably resist the skill. No magic solutions for me. At least until I had points.

At least whatever poison was in those roots hadn’t wiped me out. I was too stubborn to die. Now I just needed to learn how to weaponize my stubbornness and focus it on the Ritualist.