Chapter 271 51.1 Debuff?

SHEN

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There were a lot of things that Shen didn't want to see. For one, she didn't want to see her own death. Or death in general. She really didn't want to see a lot of dead bodies around her even if they were once running about and trying to kill them.

Or maybe it was just because the urge to try and 'fix' them was rankling on her nerves enough that she was almost tempted to do just that.

Still, even as the three of them made their way through the veritable sea of enemies out for their blood, she couldn't help but think about just... just what if she was able to somehow 'fix' dead people... Sure, it was clearly taboo, but what if though? There was clearly a precedent for it based on what she had heard from Moriya and Lady Guidance about them coming back to life whenever they would die to an enemy. After all, if they could do it, then she should be able to possibly extend it to places where they weren't fighting against an enemy. Maybe she could even fix diseases that way, perhaps stave off death for the old, or even turn back aging.

"Keep close..."

Shen nodded as she away the thoughts currently plaguing her mind. As of now, those were merely ideas that she had. Ideas that should probably be shared with Lady Guidance just from the fact that they both shared the supposed role in their group.

And no, [Work] wasn't the same. She could tell that the [Move] only worked during combat. No. She wanted a real solution to the problem that was death.

"Where are they?!"

"The Head Intellect will kill us if we can't find them!"

In the blanket of Shade's [Inconspicuous], they weaved through the crowds of Academics and other enemies that were trying to find them. She was pretty sure that they'd already gone past the point where they would only get arrested. She was pretty sure that all of these people were now looking for them just to kill them and get on with their lives.

"Over there! I can sense a disturbance!"

The three of them froze, Shade standing stock still as they all heard one of the people around them announce where they currently were. From what she could understand, [Inconspicuous] only worked if they weren't being actively noticed. But with this much attention starting to gather right where they stood, she had a feeling that they'll be having another fight real soon.

"Get ready," Shade whispered to both her and Maruki. "My [Move] won't last much longer under this kind of scrutiny."

Shen simply nodded as she held her [Fixit] with both hands. She was no longer a stranger to combat, not after everything she had been through thus far. She could kill, and she could fix whatever wounds her companions needed healing. She won't be a coward like back in that Island... She had changed. Surely, she had...

[*THWACK!*]

"What the-!"

"Kill them!"

With their cover already being threatened, Shen watched Shade as he lashed out his whip and took out a handful of the people around them in a surprise attack. Likewise, Maruki quickly took to the front and flashed his shield out in an attempt to block any possible attacks that might come at them.

"[SHOUT!] [RAMPART!]"

Quickly moving, Shen positioned herself in the middle of the two men, allowing her to do her work in peace while letting the two of them do the fighting for her.

"[Fix]! [Keep Working]!"

Bashing her wrench against Shade and Maruki's backs, Shen did what she did best, and that was to keep the two of them alive and well while holding back the onslaught of enemies trying to kill them. With each esoteric or elemental effect that struck them, she was the one that had to pick up the pieces of whatever damage they might've caused.

"ARGHH!!"

Her eyes widened as she quickly turned her head towards Shade. Her gaze calculating, she quickly picked up the cause of the man's problems.

"Damn it... What kind of [Manifest] turns people into mud?!"

She clicked her tongue as she ran her eyes across Shade's hand, his fingers partly caked with earth and grime as they barely held onto their former shape.

"Come 'er!" she called him out. "Gimme your hand!"

Having been used to her commanding tone for a while now, Shade acquiesced, giving her his left hand while the other kept on lashing out against their enemies.

Meanwhile, Shen was busy looking at his fingers, her mind whirring as she aimed her [Fixit] at the anomaly. Sure, she knew she should be able to fix it, but that didn't mean that she had already devised the right [Move] for her to do such a thing.

"What's taking so long, Shen?!"

"I'm workin' here, alright?!" she barked out. "Lemme do my thing!"

She said that, but she actually had no idea on what to do. She had [Fix], and [Keep Working], and those were the only two [Moves] that she had kept on using all this time. It was being made painfully obvious to her now that she had no answer to something like this... something that could affect a person's body like this.

"If you can't heal me, then let me get my hand back, Shen," Shade clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Even like this, I can still use it-"

"No! I can fix this!" Shen insisted, her grip on the afflicted hand tightening despite the fact that she could already tell that Maruki badly needed her support. "Just gimme some time!"

Gritting her teeth, Shen dug deep into her thoughts as she desperately tried to recall her lessons with Lady Guidance. It was through her that she learned [Bonk] and [Work], after all, and if she could just try and create a new [Move] right now, she'd surely be able to get back to supporting.

'Come on... Think! What in da world did I do ta make those new [Moves]?!'

Shen squinted hard as her gaze focused solely on the mud-caked hand in front of her. The sounds of battle seemingly disappeared as she tunnel-visioned on the problem, her urge to fix it fueling her thoughts as her [Manifest] glowed with malleable potential. If she could just return this thing to its rightful state... To somehow... make it normal again... Fixing it wouldn't work, so the only thing left was to...

"Re-[Replace]!"

It was as if something in her mind finally clicked as she thwacked her wrench at Shade's hand, her energies swirling around the mud-caked fingers and seemingly replacing all of the gunk with brand-new flesh.

"There!" she proudly yelled out, her own anxiety barely being suppressed as she let go of Shade's hand.

"Thanks, Shen!"

With her job done with Shade, she then turned to her other companion and went to work. Maruki was doing great in keeping the damage on his person to a minimum, but that didn't mean that he didn't need some healing of his own.

"[Fix]! [Keep Working]!"

Giving him both a heal and a regen, Shen kept a keen eye on their tank's status, looking to see if he also needed the same treatment that she just did on Shade. Already, she could see that his feet were bogged down to the ground, preventing him from moving at his usual speed.

"[Replace]!"

With a flick of her wrist, her [Fixit] went to work, freeing Maruki from his ailment and allowing him to properly move his feet again.

"Thank you, Shen!"

"No problem!"

She triumphantly grinned as she watched her companions go about their own respective fights. All the while, she kept herself to the wings, ducking and weaving through the carnage as she used her small stature to her advantage. Also, not a lot of their enemies truly tried to hit her. They all mostly aimed their attacks at either Maruki or Shade, and it was all the more to her advantage since it allowed her even more free reign to do her thing.

"[Fix]! [Fix!] [Keep Working]!"

With each passing [Move] that she did, the more her understanding of her own [Manifest] grew. Creating new [Moves] had always been more out of necessity, she thought. It would mean that she had to come up with ways to use her power in a way that would immediately help her in the situation. Then again, what did it mean for the fact that she learned some of her [Moves] while asking Lady Guidance for help?

"Shen!" Shade called out to her. "Give me another boost!"

Shen shook her head as she focused her attention back on the task at hand. She couldn't help but grin as she returned to her duties. Whatever it was that made her [Manifest] work and allow her to do [Moves], it didn't matter right now. She would have plenty of time to grow in this turbulent situation. She could tell that she was getting better at doing what she did best. And soon enough, maybe she'd be able to fix the most glaring human problem that would all face in the future.

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