Chapter 40 - 37: Divine Medicine from the Manager

Chapter 40: Chapter 37: Divine Medicine from the Manager

In the Safe Zone, inside the store.

As soon as they were brought into the store, Profound Sword and Hair Ghost’s conditions stabilized slightly. It was hard to tell if it was just a psychological effect or if the Safe Zone genuinely suppressed corruption and negative statuses. However, it was only a minor stabilization. Their states were still deteriorating at a visible rate. In fact, if Little Blood hadn’t given them a ride, the two of them wouldn’t have survived the journey back to the Safe Zone; they probably would have kicked the bucket halfway there. Even so, their lives were hanging by a thread.

The bizarre could never empathize with human joys and sorrows. Little Blood didn’t care in the slightest about the humans’ silence and grief. It hid in an unnoticed corner and went back to slacking off on its own.

Back in the store.

The woman in pajamas said, "Since we’ve already conquered the Nightmare, it shouldn’t be long before we detach from the Nightmare World. Once we leave the Nightmare and our Nightmare experiences are calculated, Profound Sword and Hair Ghost’s injuries might take a turn for the better!"

After all, they had conquered a Nightmare, and a large-scale one at that. The rewards given during the calculation would be quite substantial—there might still be hope for them. Many people’s eyes lit up at the thought.

But the next moment, Old Cai shook his head. "I’m afraid... it’ll be difficult.

"Profound Sword and Hair Ghost are injured far too severely. Profound Sword, in particular—the corruption has already seeped deep into his bones and soul. His entire body has started to mutate.

"As for Hair Ghost, a Control Stage Dream Descender’s Curse Object is usually quite stable. But he forcefully unleashed his Curse Object over and over again, and now it’s showing signs of going out of control. Once a Curse Object runs rampant, the Dream Descender themselves will be reduced to its puppet and empty shell, allowing the bizarre to be reborn through them!"

During the calculation of a Nightmare experience, injury recovery was merely a secondary benefit. It was impossible for a heavily injured person to suddenly become alive and kicking in the blink of an eye. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a saying that once injuries crossed a certain threshold, the person would drop below the fatal Slash threshold.

Most importantly... could Profound Sword and Hair Ghost even hold on until they returned to reality? It was hard! So hard! Incredibly hard!

Usually, if they managed to conquer a Nightmare, Dream Descenders like them would be eager to stay a bit longer. First, it allowed them to rest, and second, they could scavenge the now-safe Nightmare Area. This particular area was a large-scale Nightmare with a considerable size, meaning it was bound to contain many high-value items. He should have been wishing for more time to deal with it all. But right now, Old Cai only hoped the Nightmare would end as soon as possible.

Amidst the heavy silence, Shi An spoke up. "Perhaps they can still be saved."

Instantly, pairs of eyes turned toward him. They widened with anticipation, yet they didn’t dare to harbor too much hope.

"Is the Manager going to take action?"

"But even if the Manager is strong, having immense power and healing the sick are two completely different things."

"However, if it’s the Manager..."

They clearly knew that the Manager was also human and couldn’t possibly be omnipotent. Yet, they still couldn’t help but feel a surge of hope. What method would the Manager use? Could he forcefully lock Profound Sword and Hair Ghost’s current conditions to prevent any further deterioration?

"Wait for me a moment," Shi An said.

The Manager walked toward the side of the small store. It was just a solid wall, but when the Manager reached out and touched it, the wall unexpectedly transformed into a door. The Manager pushed it open and stepped inside.

DING!

[System Notification: Extra Space ’Purification Spring Area’ is being opened.]

[System Notification: Area successfully opened.]

[System Notification: Currently possess Extra Area 1/1.]

The area opened up very quickly. This was likely because the Purification Spring was already readymade and didn’t require any extra setup.

When Shi An pushed the door open, a refreshing aura that invigorated the Spirit washed over his face. Before him lay a small garden roughly the same size as the store. The perimeter was surrounded by the Planting of some Ordinary flowers, and right in the center sat a spring pool encircled by rocks.

It was slightly smaller than the pool he had seen from afar through Little Blood’s vision, but the water was as clear as a mirror, with flecks of silvery-white radiance flowing within it.

—

[Purification Spring]

[Description: Daily yields 1L of special spring water possessing Purification effects. It is recommended to consume the Purifying Spring Water within ten minutes of extraction; exceeding this time limit will cause the Purification effect to gradually dissipate until it disappears completely.]

[Note: Consuming Dream Crystal Dust can increase the Purification Spring’s daily yield. 100g of Dream Crystal Dust can produce 100ml of Purifying Spring Water.]

Getting the Purifying Spring Water didn’t require Shi An to directly scoop it out of the pool with a container. The design here was quite modern—there was a device resembling a water dispenser right in front of the spring pool. Beside it, there were even disposable paper cups for people to use.

"Even though it’s a bit too plain to hold the grand Purifying Water in paper cups..." Shi An muttered.

But it didn’t matter. The effect was the most important thing. Shi An was also very curious about just how effective the Purifying Water would be.

Following the description provided by the information, he directly poured two cups of Purifying Spring Water. Each cup held roughly 100ml. A volume of 100ml was about the dosage of a single medical prescription, which should be enough to eradicate most negative corruption that wasn’t too deeply rooted.

With this in mind, Shi An took the two paper cups filled with water, walked out of the spring garden, and returned to the store.

"Have them drink these two cups of water."

Water? They looked at the paper cups in the Manager’s hands. They didn’t find the cups themselves too plain, but they were still curious. Could this be some kind of Divine Medicine?

Without time to overthink, everyone believed that since the Manager asked them to do this, he naturally had his reasons.

Hair Ghost was still unconscious. Profound Sword, supported by Duckbill Hat, tremblingly accepted the water cup handed to his lips.

Inside the cup, the liquid was as clear as Ordinary spring water, though traces of silvery light could be faintly seen flowing within it, adding a great deal of mystery and extraordinariness to this seemingly Ordinary cup of water.

Profound Sword thought, "As expected of the medicine brought out by the Manager. It looks extraordinary, even if it’s just served in a paper cup."

However, he was also keenly aware of his own condition. The corruption had already seeped deep into his body, his bones, and his soul! Under these circumstances, even if he managed to hold on until he returned to reality, he wouldn’t necessarily be saved. Let alone in this Nightmare World, where resources were scarce and life-saving medicine was even more precious than Curse Objects.

He didn’t want to waste the Manager’s incredibly precious potion in vain. He most likely wouldn’t survive, meaning he was already incapable of repaying this favor. But...

"Drink it." The Manager’s tone left no room for refusal.

Profound Sword smiled bitterly, but after that bitter smile, his desire to live was rekindled once again. He parted his lips, and the clear liquid slid down his throat and into his stomach. It was light and cool.

It felt as if he had just drunk a cup of Ordinary mountain spring water. Wait, was it actually just mountain spring water? It tasted exactly the same! But before his thoughts could wander any further, an invisible power began Spreading out, soaking into every inch of his body.

Profound Sword’s eyes widened, and he hastily chugged the rest of the potion. GULP GULP. Drinking so fiercely caused him to choke a little. He abruptly clamped his hand over his mouth, terrified of coughing up even a single drop of this Treasure Medicine potion. He even stuck his tongue out to lick the paper cup, afraid of wasting even the slightest trace of its medicinal efficacy. After all, he feared this medicine was simply too precious!

Seeing Profound Sword in this state, Duckbill Hat also widened his eyes. "Boss, is it working?"

But to even lick the paper cup... that seemed a bit exaggerated. Boss Profound Sword wasn’t normally this kind of person, right?

Profound Sword didn’t answer. He kept his eyes closed, carefully experiencing the changes within his body. After a long while, he still didn’t speak. Instead, he simply rolled up his sleeves and pant legs.

There, the swelling on his legs was subsiding at a visible rate, and the bruised purple and green hues on his skin were rapidly fading. The mutation and bloodshot redness in Profound Sword’s pupils, along with the bluish-purple tint on his face, were also rapidly subsiding and fading away.

Wisps of thin green and purple mist drifted out, only to be subject to Purification by some silvery-white power, dissipating without a trace in an instant. Only a bit of dust fluttered down, resembling the ashes left behind after a fire.

Profound Sword, who had been half-lying down, at death’s door, and whose legs had been twitching sporadically just moments ago, suddenly leaped to his feet.

"Holy shit!"