Jacques Sanctum

Inferno Dart, the concentrated, doubled-up version of Fire Dart. The ensuing explosion blasted Kazi and Sun-young away. The battle mage slowly lifted his head and saw the health bar had disappeared. The Wendigo itself fell into the lake, never to be seen again.

[ Error! You defeated Boss: Wendigo! ]

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426,113 XP ]

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His muscles healed but his exhaustion didn't. Like a surge of adrenaline, it came and went, and while he could still move it wasn't easy. He went over to Sun-young, who had summoned the strength to sit, a small burn mark on her cheek.

Kazi held out a hand. "You alright?"

"Just…give me a second to catch my breath," Sun-young said, coughing and wheezing.

He waited for her till she was ready. She was unsteady and her equilibrium was seemingly shaken as she failed to walk in a straight line. Approaching William and Marta, he hoped for a miracle. A chance that the blood he was seeing was merely a part of the lake.

Crawling down Marta's cheeks were tears. Her hands were dripping in red. "Kazi! Kazi! It's William! He's…he's not healing!"

The blond for all his height and broadness really looked like a teen. A weak little boy that was on the verge of death. Why? Why? It wasn't supposed to be like this!

'The level up should have healed him. So why isn't he okay!?'

Kazi picked his head up and gently tried to wake him. His eyes were open, and his chest rose and fell, yet his existence lay in a state between life and death.

"I learned the healing skills in the holy element." Marta sniffed, staining her face with her bloodied hands. "T-they didn't work."

Before he could reply, the lake rumbled. Kazi whipped his head back and saw that the red water was…falling?

'An earthquake? What the—'

The blood lake started to collapse further. It was coming closer, and fast.

"We need to run!" Kazi exclaimed, hoisting William on his back. "Come on, come on!"

The brick wall they had broken was still open. The lake was a strange location where, despite the darkness, you could still see perfectly. The demolished wall leading to the Shadow Wall was like a glitch within that darkness.

So they ran.

"Marta!" Kazi called out. "Open up your barrier!"

"W-what!?"

"The arrows, remember!? We go in there without protection, we die! So it's now or never! Use the Magic Barrier!"

Marta gulped. Behind them, the world continued to collapse and Marta had no choice but to jump through first.

Sun-young and Kazi followed suit. He noticed Sun-young closing her eyes during the jump, as if worried this would be the end of her.

It wasn't.

Snap! Thwang!

A semi-transparent yellow barrier held out strong in front of them. Marta stood as their vanguard, panting as the barrier maintained its integrity.

"Let's go!" Marta yelled. "Let's go!"

He was sure she was saying to herself rather than them. They ran.

They ran and watched as the barrier blocked the arrows threatening to kill them. Kazi ran at full speed despite William's weight, but Sun-young staggered behind.

"Shit!"

He heard something crash behind him and saw Sun-young splat on the ground. She picked herself up, panting, and he swore he saw her wipe a tear from her eye.

"D-don't worry!" Marta said, looking back and maintaining the barrier. Frustration was clouding Sun-young. "You can do this, Sun-young! We're almost there!"

Marta didn't know that, yet she said it anyway. And it worked too, as Sun-young slowly got up, using her bitterness to her advantage, and started running again.

The three of them ran without slowing down. As if gaining a second wind, Sun-young moved flawlessly.

Then, at what Kazi guessed was the four hundred metre mark, the hard concrete changed and they stepped into the Server Room. Like coming into a perfectly air conditioned room, they felt immense relief.

"We…we're back…" Marta turned to Kazi and smiled. "We're back!"

Other players noticed their haggard condition and stared in confusion. Kazi ignored them. On his back was William and he wasn't any step closer to being better.

'Where to go, where to go—?' His train of thought didn't last long. 'There's no public hospitals here but I bet—yeah, that'll work.'

***

"Hello, hello? We need medical assistance!"

"You won't find it here, pal. Go bother someone else, I'm trying to sell here."

Nobody cared because everybody was dead. To them, hearing cries of help was a buzz amongst the rush of the bazaar. People avoided them. Glared at them for daring to cause alarm. Medical institutions in the Abyss did not exist like they did in the world. Sickness did not exist in a traditional fashion; therefore, there was no demand or need for them. Players, however, were different. They could catch sickness or injuries. They could feel pain beyond measure. Rather in investment in hospitals though, it was in the best interest of guilds to have healers in their squads. After all, with the System, healing magic became a game. Scars, sickness, and poison were treated as numbers and stats, and since they were deconstructed in that way for players specifically, it was easier to heal. No need for a huge hospital or medical institution. Small guilds simply needed two or three specialized healers and voila! They could continue doing what they were doing.

Unfortunately for Kazi, there was no one in their team that was a healer. Not himself, not Marta, and certainly not William. They needed help and no one was willing to give it to them. Not all hope was lost, however. If hospitals existed in the White Abyss in a formal sense, then it was the Big Three that had them.

Downside: they did not like to share it with outsiders. Players could come in begging and they would reject them unless they joined their guild. It was an apologetic monopoly that no one was able to dispute.

'Damn it. I was so focused on training and getting stronger that I didn't socialize as much as I should have,' Kazi thought. 'Everybody is turning us away.'

The Guild Sector was Kazi's only hope then. At the western portion where the Merchant Sector tapered off into the Guild Sector, the Templar Knights ruled supreme. The recruits and recruiters were everywhere. The two sides were their properties—to the left, a massive white castle, and parallel to it a training facility.

The blood had stopped. Kazi could still feel William breathing down his neck. Callous, cold breaths that entitled deeper concern.

Kazi had no choice. The castle, he suspected, was an administrative zone. The types going in and out did not always wear the Templar uniform. No, unlike the training centre which seemed to grant entry to members only, the castle was for everyone.

More than likely, he wouldn't find healers willing to help him. He would just make a fool of himself.

He did a quick scan of his surroundings—left, right, up front, and behind—and caught the tail of a white robe ten feet at four o'clock. The cross of the Templar Order was printed firmly on the back, belonging to an old man laughing and gesturing jokingly to a nearby recruit.

With his wrinkled expression, his kind eyes, and his exemplary robes, Kazi instantly knew what to do.

"I think we've lucked out," Kazi told Sun-young and Marta, before dashing off.

The training center, though smaller than the opposing castle, bore the unmistakable hallmark of Templar architecture. At the main entrance was a stout wooden gate flanked by stone towers, the Templar cross standing proudly overhead, etched into the stone lintel. Four Templar knights were perched above and below.

"Hey! We need help—" Spears were immediately directed at Kazi, who stopped but did not fear. "Look, my friend over here—"

"You are not a Templar. Leave."

Kazi put on a look of concern. "Look at his skin! It's cracked! Something is wrong with him!"

"P-please." Marta joined in, tears in her eyes. "He needs help!"

Her glasses were a bloody mess and she had a runny nose. She looked horrible and the knights hesitated all for but a second.

Sun-young was behind them, torn between wanting to go elsewhere for help and staying to beg.

"Kazi," Sun-young said, "we should go somewhere else."

'Wait…' He could hear the approaching footsteps. '...just wait—'

"This isn't the way to treat guests."

'Here he is!'

The old man in the white had arrived, just as Kazi predicted he would. Hair in a small tonsure, keeping a well-groomed beard, and his eyes shining with disappointment, he radiated a peculiar aura. A man of God, no doubt, and maybe something more. He approached the guards and shook his head. "This is disappointing. Henry, Thomas, remember what I said last week? 'And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.' They are coming with me. Do not stop us."

A relieved smile crossed Kazi as he saw the guards soften under his authority. 'I knew it. White robes mean a higher rank. He must be a Chaplain. The religious type to help people regardless of the rules.'

It was a quick glance and guess. He deduced the Chaplain had been heading to the training facility when he got distracted by the recruit. The brief catch of his smile and expression told Kazi everything. To some, it might have been a wild assumption to make. To Kazi, it wasn't.

"Come now," the old man in the white robe said, smiling. "Come in. Let us help your friend."

"Thank you so much!" Marta said.

Through the gates, a colossal courtyard opened up to them, akin to an open-air amphitheater, where Templar recruits engaged in rigorous martial training. Knights-in-training sparred with wooden practice swords, and archers lined another side of the courtyard, sending arrows flying towards distant targets with unerring accuracy.

A series of interconnected buildings housed the administrative offices, armouries, and sleeping quarters for the Templars. Going up the stairs, they entered the building closest to them, practically running.

"Is this a hospital?" Sun-young asked.

"We do have a healer's place but it's for Templars only. I'd rather us go to a friend of mine. It will be quick and easy," the Chaplain explained.

The wooden doors opened to an office. A group of knights were spread across and covering the large desk ahead. The typical knights of the Templar Order wore an armless white tunic with a red cross displayed on the chest, chainmail armour underneath, and a distinctive cloak. Many chose to forgo the helmet or the cloak, while others didn't. The five knights standing at attention shifted towards the sudden intrusion.

The Chaplain walked forward and the knights split apart for him. Kazi was a step behind. He could feel the befuddled looks from the knights.

At the desk was man whose uniform was distinctly different. Rather than a white tunic, it was black. 'A higher rank,' Kazi assumed.

"Philip? What is it this time?" the man in the black tunic asked. His dark eyes squinted while a hand twisted his long moustache.

"Apologies, Commander. These folk require our aid. Tend to them, will you?"

At the mere sight of them, they received looks of suspicion. Templar members, regardless of rank or experience, always wore their designated uniform. While the old man wore a rare white robe that Kazi had not seen before and no chainmail underneath, the red cross was still imprinted. Kazi, Sun-young, and Marta stuck out like pets amongst humans.

"And they are…?" The man continued twisting his moustache, undisturbed by the sight of the injured William.

It was all too familiar. That look. That damn look. Men in positions of power that did not care for the qualms of those that were different from them, who followed opposite ideologies. Death was a sadness they could accept. Death was a mere obstacle for them. Death could be controlled because of their greatness.

It was like staring into a cracked mirror—

"What are your names again?" The Chaplain, Philip, turned to Kazi, smiling sheepishly.

"You don't even know their names? Philip, truly, what are you thinking?" The man stood up and crossed his arms. His brown hair went over his eyes, but was short at the back. "I am Commander Cedric Vear, one of the five rulers of the Jacques Sanctum. And I say—" He stopped, eyes meeting Philip's, and finished—"Fine. Lay him down, please."