The Strongest Spellblade

Healer Melon and Skullcrusher went to the bar to get a drink, while Xyon and I sat in a side alcove. Fast paced music played in the background in the dimly lit establishment. A scantily clad woman walked up to our table. “What can I get you two gentleman today?”

“We are connoisseurs. So, get some of the top shelf stuff, sweet, Cossuer if you have it, and a nice selection,” Xyon said while putting a gold coin on her tray ordering some food. I felt a bit uncomfortable with her state of undress but didn’t say anything. I knew about places like this, but I had never been to one. I couldn’t wait to try whatever the chef had cooked up. I was hoping for some local delicacies.

“Of course. And if you want some company, don’t hesitate to ask,” the woman said before walking away.

“Don’t worry, this is going to be great. Nice to relax finally,” Xyon said as he leaned back and grinned at me. I leaned back as well. There was no need to be tense, and it was important to not the assassination attempts disrupt my mindset. Being able to relax was just as important as training hard in my mind.

“The College flying stresses me out. I am always worried if it will fall,” I said to generate some conversation, not knowing what else to talk about.

“Exactly! Cities and Colleges aren’t supposed to fly. Scary to think one mistake and we are doomed,” Xyon said.

“Your drinks, and the bottle. Cossuer Sparkling Wine, twenty years old,” the server came back.

“Ah, the good stuff. You have to try this,” Xyon said as two glasses were poured. I hadn’t drunk anything alcoholic before. But I wasn’t too worried, since I had Poison Resistance and the drunken effect from alcohol counted as a very light poison. We both picked up our classes and drank.

“Sweet, nice selection,” I said.

“I know the best wines, don’t worry.” I felt my Healing Points decrease a bit but wasn’t too concerned. As long as they didn’t go below half I wasn’t going to worry.

“Don’t worry, it is going to get even better,” he said. The server then returned with a silver tray with a small crystals on it in a range of colors. My nervousness greatly increased. This wasn’t food. “Perfect, Genoa really lives up to its reputation.” I noted the crystals had Mana in them. “The trick is to boost some useless but fun skill.”

This was Pic, or power infused crystals. For a long moment, I wasn’t sure what to do. My etiquette warred with my common sense. I had been an idiot thinking this place served food. There were so many obvious clues in hindsight. I was a super idiot.

I fell back on my Adventurer training. When the danger was too much or the situation too complicated, sometimes the best answer was to just leave. “Pic isn’t for me, thank you for your time,” I said and pulled out a gold coin.

“What?” Xyon looked at me in surprise as I put the gold coin down on the table and left.

“Let’s go,” I told Healer Melon. He gave me a nod, and we walked out. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

“Your mother couldn’t change your mind about your choices? And you wanted me to change her mind? You made the right decision to walk out by the way,” Healer Melon said.

“Why?” I muttered. It wasn’t just about Xyon using Pic, but also about how people I tried to make friends with turned out to have hidden issues. I knew I wasn’t perfect, but I someone use Pic was not someone I wanted to be around. That wasn’t even counting the risk of Alchemical Toxicity. After all the suffering I had endured, I wasn’t about to ruin my body and soul for no reason.

“Urg, my healing points are still dropping. I had some wine,” I said.

“What kind?” Healer Melon asked.

“Cossuer Sparkling Wine, twenty years old, half a glass,” I answered.

“It has Alchemical agents to suppress poison resistance. It is triggering your Alchemical Toxicity. You should be fine with just half a glass. But watch out for high end drinks like that,” Healer Melon said.

“No one told me,” I replied.

“Most people your age don’t drink Cossuer Sparkling Wine. Its half a gold coin per bottle,” Healer Melon said.

“Sorry,” I muttered as I kept walking aimlessly through the city on a main road. Other people were going by us in a riot of colors. But I ignored them, frustrated and dejected. I wasn’t cursed with Experience Siphon, but bad judgement.

“Don’t be. You made a good choice to leave that kind of place.”

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“But Xyon…he seemed so capable,” I muttered.

“For now. But Pic will damage his soul. I bet he said something about focusing only on useless skills,” Healer Melon said.

“He said exactly that. Were you listening in?” I asked in shock.

“No. But it is a common excuse addicts use. Pic might not seem bad at the start, but it is highly addicting. What happens when you run out of junk skills? You will focus on others. And your soul will progressively decay. Your life expectancy would be cut to a quarter.”

“Then why do people use it to begin with?” I asked.

“Because it makes them feel amazing. But, it is all lies. I have seen addicts when they finally realize there is no hope. It gets ugly, every single time. They try to look for solutions while taking more and more Pic, hoping to out race the collapse of their soul, until they are nothing but a hollowed out husk that then dies in excruciating pain,” Healer Melon said.

“And it is legal?” I asked.

“No, but most cities and nations turn a blind eye to it,” Healer Melon answered.

“Why? That doesn’t make any sense,” I replied.

“Welcome to the adult world Justin, where money is power. There is a lot of money in selling Pic. And since it is addictive, the money doesn’t stop flowing. Some of that money finds its way into the pockets of various officials and nobles, ensuring they look the other way, even if their own family members might get addicted,” he explained.

We kept walking for another couple of minutes in silence until we reached the shoreline. The port was filled with wooden ships. No magical carriages for the open ocean. The waves were too much. I let the sea breeze wash over me, as I looked out over the water.

My mind jumped to thinking about how people had tried to flood the dungeon in the past. That was one way to force the dungeon to close a passage to the surface. It didn’t like getting flooded.

Even with the distracting thought, I was still depressed, sad, upset, and frustrated. I had trusted Xyon and he had turned into a drug addict. “Are there fun classes or activities at the College of Advancement?” I asked.

“Perhaps a lesser skill? I don’t know, I will ask around,” Healer Melon said. That was nice of him. I would find other people who had the same interests as me. Getting stronger, sweets, good food, fun skills, and adventuring. There had to be other people out there that weren’t messed up in some way.

Maybe to other people, having Sweet Tooth would make them look down on me instead. But there was a difference between candy and drugs. At least I thought so. One was slightly bad for your health, the other ruined your soul. You couldn’t take Pic in moderation. I felt some regret over stocking up on sweets now.

“It is getting late. We should head back to the College or find an inn to stay at,” Healer Melon said.

“Let’s find an inn. I still want to look around the city. This is my vacation, and I won’t let it be ruined,” I replied and turned away from the coast and the port. “Why don’t you pick a place. I really don’t feel like deciding on something right now.” After the disaster with Xyon, I didn’t want to make any more decisions today.

“Then the city center would be for the best,” Healer Melon said as we began walking back. “Don’t worry about the sweets.”

“What?” I asked.

“I can tell you are worried about them. They aren’t soul damaging drugs. A little bit won’t hurt you and your consumption of them isn’t that high. If you were eating a lot more, then I would say something. But at your age and with the physical skills you are working on, more sugar won’t kill you. It is just slightly bad,” he said.

“Slightly, that still doesn’t sound good,” I replied.

“I have a bad habit myself,” he said.

“What? No way. How did you get that past my mother?” I asked.

“I read romance thrillers in my spare time. The Sultry Maid series is quite popular,” he said.

“What…no way,” I muttered. “Wait, you want to stop by a bookstore?”

“Don’t worry about it. If I do let you read something like that, your mother would skin me alive and then bake me,” he joked. Maybe, it was hard to tell with my mother where she drew the line sometimes.

“I won’t. I guess even healers have a dark side,” I said.

“Indeed. But everyone has a way to relax. But it is often private,” he said.

“Even Supreme Warlady Elena?” I asked in a slightly joking tone.

“There are always exceptions to every rule. And for her killing monsters is probably relaxing.”

“I hope she is doing alright,” I said.

“If anyone will return from the bottom of the dungeon it would be her. But I am sure she would be happy that you are thinking of her,” he replied.

“Hmm, it would be interesting if she did have a bad habit in her spare time. Like secretly enjoying fine wines. Do you think one has to follow their passion to become a Supreme Legend?” I asked.

“Maybe. I just know that the route is incredibly long and difficult. While it might seem hard now, you are building a foundation that will make things much easier later on. If anyone is going to get a tier 7 skill, it would be you,” Healer Melon said.

“That is nice of you to say. I have to ask, you don’t know anything about the Dark Cabal?”

“They are a secretive terrorist organization. The Five Star Institute of Healing is directly opposed to them. One of the few groups we actively condemn but won’t go after at all.”

“There are others?” I asked.

“Mainly criminal organizations that deal with slavery or children. The Five Star Institute has always maintained that children should be protected. After we opposed the Eternal Emperor, this has become a core philosophy of the institution. Even if it can be difficult sometimes, we try our best,” Healer Melon said.

“While having a monopoly on healing? Why is that?” I asked.

“This is before the Eldarin Empire, but healing was much more widespread and mixed with flesh crafting. There were a lot of accidents and there is offensive healing. That was clamped down on quite heavily. There hasn’t been a Dark Healer in over 1,500 years thankfully.”

“Huh, Dark Healing, now I am curious.”

“Mutated growths and deforming people into monstrosities, twisting healing skills for nefarious purposes. There are very few records, and the few known skills are heavily restricted. If there ever was a Dark Healer, the entire Five Star Institute would mobilize everything to kill that individual. Even the Dark Cabal hesitates to train a person in such skills even if they have the knowledge.”

“But not for other things?” I asked.

“The world is filled with evil and to fight against all of it is impossible. Healing is the sole purview of the Five Star Institute of Healing for good reason to prevent misuse and frauds from scamming people,” he explained.