Chapter 179: Divine Mountain
Various thoughts ran through Zacs head as he leveled an even stare at Sui, to the point that she quickly started to get flustered.
Im sorry, I didnt an to surprise you. Your face and body are different, but your energy feels the sa. I only know it because my class has given
so unique skills. The others dont know. I promise I wont tell, so please dont do anything drastic, she quickly explained in a hurried flurry of words.
I understand. Thank you for your discretion. You can call
David, Zac said after a while and closed his eyes, once again using the nickna he chose on the other side of the Dead Zone.
The silence might have been a bit oppressive to the Purifier because she quickly got out of the van as well as soon as she was done imbuing him with another round of energy. That left Zac alone in the van, going over what she said. In the end he felt it wasnt a big deal that she knew. If she didnt even tell those in her team she wouldnt tell anyone else.
Since he was alone for the mont he quickly took out a bunch of dried at and stuffed himself, almost inhaling the strips made from high leveled beasts. Suis efforts was very effective in keeping the bead happy, but that alone wasnt enough. His body felt as though hed been starving for months, lacking not only energy but nourishnt.
With his attributes he had an extre tabolism, if he didnt eat a lot hed only get worse. In just seconds Zac actually managed to stuff his face with over a kilo of high-grade at and a couple of liters of water from a canteen. After a brief hesitation he took out another flask and took a small sip from it.
It was actually extrely diluted Cosmic Water, containing roughly one percent of the high energy liquid. As it entered his body he felt the familiar burn through his pathways, but with the low amount of water it was just a small flash of warmth before it turned into Cosmic Energy.
It was the highest concentration he dared to drink at the mont, but even this mixture was harmful if imbibed to much. It did, however, give a small boost to his completely depleted reserves of Cosmic Energy, which improved his bodily functions in general.
Drinking it was partly to invigorate his body, but mainly in order to stay prepared. While Sui seed nice enough, he didnt really trust the others. If it ca to it he needed to be able to protect himself. Besides, they were still in the Dead Zone, anything could happen.
Zac would have liked to continue eating, but approaching voices told him his feast was over, so he quickly put away his Cosmos Pouch again. The trip was largely uneventful after that, as they only traveled on roads far away from civilization. They entered a sort of routine where nothing really happened apart from Sui infusing so energy into Zac every hour or so.
They never stopped driving and kept going non-stop. The only tis they stopped was when they found abandoned vehicles, where they tried to salvage so leftover gas with practiced ease. It was the middle of the night when they made another such stop, and the Old man jumped out of the back of the truck with a hose and a can.
However, it didnt take long before the calm of the night was interrupted by multiple roars from zombies.
Attack! a shout from outside ca, and within seconds the rest of the people in the truck were up on their feet and outside.
Zac had to admit that these people seed to have more combat experience than even his Valkyries. Perhaps trying so recruiting in the area would be a good idea. For a second he thought about going out to help, but a quick check told him his body was in no condition yet. The energy he got from the Cosmic Water was just to keep him going at full power for a couple of seconds, and he didnt want to waste it on so mindless zombies.
Instead, he took the chance to once again replenish his body. He stuffed his face with dried at, and once again downed it with a mouthful of diluted Cosmic Water. It was simply too hard to restore energy naturally in the Dead Zone, as most of the Cosmic Energy was converted into miasma. Taking out a bunch of crystals would be suspicious as well, leaving him with only this option.
Arent you relaxed, having a drink while were out here risking our lives, a grunt suddenly ca from outside.
Surprised Zac quickly looked over, and to his annoyance it was the man who sat opposite him, Wang Fang. It appeared that the man had actually snuck back toward the truck while the fight was still going. Zac could only say that the mans na was completely apt, as he had been a complete wang since Zac woke up.
Unfortunately Im not in shape to help at the mont, Zac could only respond, as what the man said was in a sense true.
Even worse, youve also been hiding rations while enjoying ours, the man pressed on as he jumped into the van. Makes
wonder what else you have been hiding. I knew we should have frisked you when Sui picked you up.
Zacs brows scrunched up, and he started to wonder if he would have to waste the little energy hed restored in order to break so bones. He couldnt have the man search him, even if it ant that hed have a falling out with the people in the truck. The wealth on his person was beyond anything they could imagine, and it would create chaos.
Zac slowly started to rotate his cosmic energy through his parched pathways, getting ready for a quick surprise strike. However, he was relieved to hear that the fighting had died down outside, and footsteps were approaching the truck.
Wang Fang tsked in annoyance, but quickly snatched the flask out of Zacs hand and backed away with a triumphant sneer. However, face quickly changed as the sweet aroma from the Cosmic Water drew his attention, and he unhesitantly took a swig from the canteen.
You really shouldnt drink that. It is poison, and it will be the end of you, Zac said with a frown.
However, Wang ignored him and greedily swallowed one mouthful after another with a blissful expression on his face.
At this mont the others entered the truck, frowning at the scene.
Whats going on? the old man, who appeared to be so sort of leader, asked.
Our little guest has been hoarding treasures all along, the Wang Fang said and showed them the flask triumphantly. I found him drinking from this when I looked inside. Its so magical water that restored instantly restored all my cosmic energy from just a few mouthfuls.
So murmurs erupted from the others as they greedily looked at the flask, apart from Sui who looked aghast at the situation. Wang seed emboldened by the attention and Zacs silence so he kept going.
Not only that, the flask itself is a treasure, as it contains an endless amount of the Treasure Water, he said, looking at Zac with a sneer. I bet this thing is why you had to flee into the Dead Zone. You probably stole it and got chased.
Ill give you a final warning, Zac said with a shrug. That bottle contains diluted Cosmic Water. It will restore your cosmic energy, but it will also ruin your pathways. I only took a small sip to restore my depleted energy, but that was because I had no alternative. Drinking it like you did will only end in tragedy.
You stole it from David? Fang-ge, what kind of man have you beco? Sui said with disappointnt. Return it imdiately.
Its okay, its nothing valuable, Zac said with a wave, before he looked at the others in the truck. You were benevolent and helped
in my ti of need, so I wish you no harm. Stay away from that liquid.
Not wanting us to waste your treasure? Wang snorted. I bet youre planning to steal it back. Sorry, but it will stay with
from now on. This will be what push our squad to greatness.
Zac shook his head, not wanting to bother with the fool any longer. If he wanted to kill himself he was welco to. Besides, the flask was nothing expensive, just a little Cosmic Water diluted in normal water. It was nothing compared to the small lake of the stuff he possessed.
Instead he closed his eyes and rested. In the end a few others tasted the water, and all marveled at its magical effects. However, the Old Man, Sui, and another man declined instead opting to slowly restore themselves with Nexus Crystals. Since they didnt take it any further or trying to frisk him for any more treasures Zac let the matter end there.
Between Suis help and his slow recuperation he was over 15% restored by now by his own account. It wasnt optimal, but it was enough to rebuff so zombie hunters if it ca to that. But Zac felt that what they would go through in the future was punishnt enough. He rembered how addictive the water was, it felt like one could keep going and fight forever with the stuff. But reality would catch up with them soon enough.
After the confrontation the atmosphere in the truck got quite oppressive, with no one really in the mood to speak up. Zac knew that if it wasnt for Sui he would have been attacked, or at least thrown out by now. It was lucky for him that no one wanted to anger the purifier, as it might result in their death tomorrow from lack of treatnt.
Zac considered whether he should just start to bring out his at and so crystals, and beat them up if they got greedy for his things. But in the end he gave up on the idea, as he didnt want to rock the boat. He needed to get infused by the energy from Sui, so he decided to stay put until they arrived at the monastery.
Instead they sat in silence, the hours feeling like days. Zac wasnt sure how long theyd driven, but suddenly his eyes opened due to a change in the atmosphere. The concentration of miasma was rapidly declining, to the point that it was almost gone after 20 seconds of driving.
The others in the truck sensed it as well and stretched their legs as they cracked their necks. The truck stopped only a minute later, and everyone quickly got out. This ti Zac didnt stay behind, and for the first ti in over a day he got up on his feet and walked out of the stuffy truck.
By now Sui had infused him over 30 tis, and his body finally didnt feel like it was teetering on the brink of collapse. Even better, the air was completely free from miasma, and Zac felt his body slowly start to absorb energy to deplete his wrung out body.
With a grunt he jumped out of the truck, but he imdiately froze when e looked at the area, and he couldnt help but gape in awe. As he looked around it almost felt like he was in a dream, standing on the foot of Mount ru.
The sky was an intense blue, the gloomy clouds of the Dead Zone just a distant mory. The surroundings were draped Lush greenery, with rice paddies covering most of the base of a towering mountain that rose to the skies. The fields were tended by at least a hundred monks, dressed in simple kasayas, and it was easy to forget that they were surrounded by zombies from the pastoral scenery.
The greenery actually stopped so ways up the mountain, being replaced by sheer walls and cliffs. More amazingly the mountain itself was almost completely covered text, huge letters leaving barely any surfaces unaltered.
It was not the fractals of the system or any foreign species Zac knew from a glance. He was by no ans an expert in the area, but he was pretty sure it was so sort of Indian text, likely Sanskrit as it was a Buddhistic mountain.
However, Zac had never heard of sothing like this magical mountain before the integration. Engraving a whole mountain was an unfathomable undertaking, and the carvings would have made it world renown. So Zac could only guess that the engravings were added after the world got integrated, which made sense since sothing like this should be a lot easier when ones attributes had improved.
More surprisingly he felt that the Sanskrit wasnt just decoration, as there were hints of power in the letters. They held a subdued but intractable strength, making Zac even doubt he could cause a crack in the stones. Together they ford sothing unfathomable giving the whole mountain almost a divine aura.
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