Tbou: Hopebreaker

Chapter Thirteen

Through the Storm

Gwyn's perspective

I watched as William fell to the ground. Grabbing his arm and throwing it over my shoulder, I dragged him towards the basement door. The world shook even more than before. It was as if the world was ending.

William was coughing profusely. Something was wrong as I noticed tiny black veins surrounding the cut on his cheek. I felt my heart start to race out of fear. But I didn't have time to waste as I brought his body to the basement door. That's when I realized he was unconscious, saliva dripping down from his mouth. His skin was cold to the touch.

Grunting loudly, I swung his unconscious body over the basement entranced. Slowly lowering him, the ground shook violently as I saw a giant boulder had landed outside the house, probably from the mountain.

Fully aware of the danger, I immediately dropped Will into the basement.

Sorry.

I climbed down after and quickly slammed the basement door shut. We were closed off from the outside world. It was as if there were hundreds of earthquakes. I could only pray that everything would be okay.

Climbing farther down, I reached my foot out far out, making sure I didn't step on Will. It was pitch black in the basement as I made contact with the floor. There was supposed to be a lantern somewhere. I extended my arm out towards the blackness. Not finding anything, I reached towards the wall and accidentally kicked William's leg, I believed. His breathing was hoarse as he continued to cough. Dimmal continued to groan in the corner I put him in.

Following the wall in the darkness, I soon found the lantern I sought. I pinched the candle in the lantern using the skill [Fire Starter]. The moment I used it, status magic kicked in as it displayed the skill in front of me. I scoffed in annoyance as the candle was now lit.

It was a basic skill used to start fires. But status magic was getting annoying. I am curious how those summon heroes or kings can use such a thing.

I retracted my hand as parts of the room were no longer shrouded in darkness. I could clearly see where Dimmal was resting. A couple of the shelves and drawers held boxes full of stuff. Due to the earth-shaking, a few items rattled and clanked inside the boxes. I turned my back to some of the darker areas of the basement. William is my biggest concern.

Looking back at Will, I can see the black veins on his face have spread. I saw a black window-like status magic appear above his head.

[Infected]

I quickly ran over to some of the shelves, recalling that I intentionally grabbed some potions that should help. The shelves were covered in dust and cobblestone webs. I looked into the boxes as my heart pounded in my chest, but I kept my calm. I spotted a few potion bottles and herbs, running my hand across each bottle to see if it was what I was looking for.

William kept coughing as he started to wheeze. I continued to search each bottle, and the status magic assisted me by showing me the names of each potion: mana potion, healing potion, Estus bottle, and so much more. I grew frustrated as Will's cough kept getting worse.

Where is it?!

Grimacing as I threw a box out of my way, I looked into another box, then another.

Then another.

The Cure Disease potion is missing. I know I had one for this moment—the one I have been waiting for all this time—to make sure William lives.

Anger wilded up in me as I couldn't find the potion. Grunting as I opened each drawer, I started to panic, making a mess of the basement. My heart was slamming in my chest, and I huffed loudly as I rechecked each potion. Out of anger, I threw one of the potions at the wall.