Above The Sky
Chapter 246 - 246 234 Good Intentions 14

246: Chapter 234 Good Intentions (1/4) 246: Chapter 234 Good Intentions (1/4) In a dry and spacious part of the cave tunnel, several men dressed as fishermen lay on the ground, groaning and wailing continuously.

Most of them were strong middle-aged men, with pained and twisted expressions, drenched in sweat despite the cavern’s low temperature.

Among those lying on the ground, only a slightly hunched-over old man seemed relatively calm, but it was evident that there were many swollen areas on his legs, with several dark blue spots moving ceaselessly beneath the skin.

A boy of about fourteen or fifteen held potions and a small knife with great concern, performing incisions and applying potions on the groaning commoners.

“Everyone,”

he would occasionally remind them in resignation, “Please, keep it down.

We’re in a cavern, and noise can travel far.

If other Magical Beasts are attracted, we’ll truly be in danger.”

The golden-haired youth was none other than Yisen Gard.

During the anomaly in the Southern Sea, he, along with Master Gossay, Ian, Shasha, and the Pirate Captain, were swept into the ruins by the powerful winds when the entrance opened.

As Master Gossay was exhausted, it fell to Yisen to step up, activating the Sublimation Skills and Protective Amulet to shield the others.

He succeeded, but in the end, being at the First Energy Level, he could not achieve perfection, causing the group to scatter—he could only ensure that Master Gossay, who had already passed out, landed safely inside the ruins.

Thanks to the protection of the Protective Amulet, Yisen soon regained consciousness and began to search for an exit by following the wind direction—though he specialized in fire, he also had some proficiency with wind.

The tunnels were intricate and shadowy, and before Yisen had a chance to find an exit, he encountered a group of ordinary fishermen and merchant sailors attacked by Magical Beasts.

The effects of the Southern Sea anomaly had not been limited to the remote sea.

At the time of the anomaly, not only Odell Reef and Sigh Cliff but also the northeastern maritime regions experienced various whirlpools and breaches, dragging in many outsiders and vessels, involving a lot of ordinary people.

The waves were only tumultuous at the main entrance, while the smaller passageways elsewhere were quite mild—some fishermen’s boats were even undamaged.

Although Yisen Gard was lacking in emotional intelligence and somewhat naive, he was not foolishly kind-hearted to the point of thoughtlessly rushing to save others—if he could locate those milder entries, it would greatly help their current situation.

He managed to drive off an unusually peculiar Armorless Lobster—a crustacean without a shell, but with a tough protective layer of fat.

Such lobsters were the main dish at opulent feasts for the coastal city’s wealthy, with the delicious fat highly prized.

But at that moment, it was uncertain who would be whose delicacy.

After killing the Magical Beast one-on-one, Yisen Gard was shocked to discover that nearly all the commoners—and even Master Gossay—who had been sprayed by the lobster’s foam were running high fevers, with extremely obvious swellings and cysts appearing on their bodies.

“These are parasites.

Ordinary Parasite Expelling Potions are useless against them.

Instead, sedatives that slow blood circulation, anesthetics that numb the perception of nerves, can reduce the activity frequency of these unknown parasites,”

he explained, deftly moving through the groaning crowd with his potions and knife, puncturing the boils, killing the slowed parasites, then cauterizing the wounds with fire and treating the burns with potions.

In that moment, he entered a professional state, treating everything as a biological alchemy experiment, which calmed him down.

This allowed him to analyze and address the situation with composed analysis: “These parasites travel through the bloodstream not to spread throughout the body, but to reach the ‘Blood-Brain Barrier,’ to enter the brain.”

“These are parasites that specifically target the nervous system, so anesthetic potions are most effective.”

Through Yisen Gard’s efforts, most of the infected patients showed improvement, but they were not cured completely.

He couldn’t immediately locate the source of the infection, and even if he could, there wouldn’t be enough time to fully heal everyone.

Approaching an old man who, despite sweating profusely, maintained steady breathing, the boy knelt beside him, lifting his robe to closely observe his legs, which had swollen to twice their normal size.

Master Gossay had been silently observing every move of his student.

He watched as Yisen Gard analyzed the situation, prepared potions on the spot to treat the patients, and performed pharmacological and biological analyses.

Despite the pain, he still revealed a relieved smile.

He had thought that Yisen would be disheartened by his uncle’s betrayal, but to his surprise, in a critical moment, the boy remained true to his heart, always compassionate, and did not lose any fundamental Alchemy skills.

—Perhaps not a good Noble…

but a good student.

Only when the young man approached him, did the old man revert to his customary calm demeanor.

“Teacher, by manipulating Origin Quality, suppress the blood flow in the lower body, and I will handle the rest,”

Yisen Gard said earnestly, not afraid of infection— the blood of a Dragon Refiner of Light’s Devouring was already a special toxic Alchemy Matrix, and coupled with their own unique parasitic organism inheritance, it was nearly impossible for them to be parasitized by other creatures.

Therefore, he could handle everyone’s conditions with ease.

“…Not bad, Yisen, you’re finally showing some promise,”

The old man nodded slightly and then shook his head, “My legs are no longer functional, in my unconscious state, the parasites of the Demon Beast Level have already corroded my entire nervous system in the legs.

Curing them would be less practical than simply amputating and growing new ones with a Regeneration Potion.

“Is that so…” Yisen Gard paused in shock, then resolvedly said, “…At the very least, we should alleviate some of your pain, teacher.”

“This is the Blocking Potion I’ve formulated; it should stop the parasites from being active for some time, the other patients are responding well, there is no risk.”

“Mm.”

Master Gossay glanced at the people beside him, their screams had subsided, but their limbs were swollen with cysts similar to his own legs.

He frowned, wanting to say something, but ultimately he sighed, “Saving them…

might cause them even more pain.”

“What?”

The less experienced Yisen Gard was somewhat bewildered, while the elderly man, who had seen many similar instances, simply shook his head, “Nothing, after all, it’s your kindness…

And it’s not necessarily a lost cause.”

Raising his head, as the young man injected him with the Blocking Potion, Master Gossay looked towards the far end of the cave, softly sighing, “It’s still uncertain what the situation with these underground ruins is, why this place harbors so many dreadful parasites, how they maintain their colonies, and what’s the status of other biological communities…”

After a pause, he added, “Yisen, do you remember in which direction Ian fell?”

“No.”

Yisen Gard thought for a moment and shook his head slightly, “The storm was fierce at that time; I exhausted all my strength just slowing down to protect everyone.”

“However, seeing that these Ordinary people could survive, I believe Ian must be alright.”