Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 23: Chapter 19: Refinement

Read chapter 23 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 19: Refinement Chapter 19: Refinement The military gave Alex some basic, but still rather decent, medical training during his service. He knew how to treat physical trauma from falls, gashes, punctures and more. He felt confident with many possible life threatening situations in the field. Not as confident as Allie, for sure, but enough. He had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do in the case of sudden black sludge vomit coming from his friend. Alex spat out the bit of foul liquid that managed to land in his mouth. The taste was beyond repulsive and he had to consciously fight his own stomach to keep it from emptying itself on Garret's face in angry retribution. "Help us. He's dying." "He's not dying you fool. He's just having his body refined a little, that's all." Celeste dropped a towel at her feet and nudged it closer to Alex. Garret was still convulsing randomly in Alex's arms but he managed to pick up the rag and begin wiping away the brackish residue on Garret's face. He succeeded in smearing it more than actually cleaning it away, so Alex simply gave up on the attempted idea and jammed the rag under Garret's neck where most of the liquid seemed to be pooling on the floor. "Refined what?" "Refining his body," Celeste repeated, as if that explained anything at all. She threw another towel into a bucket and began the process of carrying it over to them. "What does that even mean? Look, in my world, puking out black ooze is definitely not a normal behavior." Alex once again focused on trying to hold Garret's head steady. "I would assume not, given your little fit just now," She dropped the bucket next to Alex, the water inside sloshed about and splashed on to the floor. "He will be fine." Even with Celeste's words of assurance, Alex wasn't convinced. He held his friend tightly, trying to subdue the shudders which the man kept being overcome by. He puked again, Alex angled his head to the side this time and Garret released yet even more sludge on to the floor. This continued for a couple long and anxiety filled minutes. "Look, its already over now." Celeste said. As she said the words Garret's spasms stopped and his eyes began to flutter open. The guy seemed just as confused about the situation as Alex, perhaps more so given he just woke up cradled in Alex's arms like a child. "Uh Alex, I don't think our relationship is quite at this level yet." "I hate you." Alex let go of Garret, letting the man hit his head on the now wet floorboards. "Hey!" Garret groaned. "You were convulsing and ejecting black ooze from your eyes and mouth okay, I thought you were dying. Some appreciation would be nice." Alex said. "Oh man, that's hardcore," Garret touched his cheeks and around his mouth, and found the dark liquid Alex was talking about stick to his fingers. "I feel like a truck hit me. But also... I feel like a million bucks. Its weird." He sniffed at the dark substance on his fingers, and immediately began to gag. Alex was certain the guy was going to puke, since Alex knew he also still wanted to throw up from the horrid smell that substance gave off. "Clean it up then child, come on." Celeste pointed at the bucket still waiting next to Garret on the floor. "Me?" Garret asked. "Your mess, you clean it." Alex said and stepped back a few paces. "Great, I'm the victim here okay." Garret reached over to the bucket, and pulled on the rim to drag the thing over. His fingers dug into the wood and quickly cracked open the board, leaking soapy water all over the place. "Watch it now. You just dumped experience points your strength didn't you? You're going to be a lot stronger than you're used to." Celeste threw a third rag over at him. Garret simply groaned and began scrubbing. It took effort to get the black ooze washed off the wooden floorboards. It seemed even with Garret's improved strength stat which he had pumped up to five apparently, the weird liquid was rather persistent. It was all soaked up eventually but very slowl