Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x!

"Damnit," Nox gritted his teeth, the strong gust of wind causing strands of his hair to flutter wildly in the air. He was trying his best to stay awake, but with each passing second, his HP bar continued to plummet. He looked beside him and could vaguely make out the figure of Wendy shouting.

Though he couldn't hear her voice, he could see her lips moving.

"Nox, stay with me!"

"Nox, stay with me!"

A horrified expression appeared on Wendy's face as she watched Nox's pale face that was slowly turning as white as a sheet of paper. His red lips were dry and shivering slightly. Although he was staring at her, those beautiful black eyes seemed very dull, as if they were looking past her.

Wendy's heart ached at Nox's miserable sight. She had used her cloth as a makeshift bandage around his wound, but because she wasn't an experienced healer like her mother, it didn't completely stop the bleeding.

She feared that Nox might die from blood loss before she arrived at the destination. Her head was clouded with thoughts, and she didn't even notice when she turned towards Fluffington, who was dangling in one of the tentacle's hands. She spoke in an urgent tone filled with anxiety:

"Is there a way for this thing to go any faster?" She had heard from others back at the Barony about Nox's unique class, which enabled him to tame beasts and use them as companions.

Wendy hoped deep in her heart that the cat could understand her too.

Wendy wasn't the only one who was anxious. Thirteen, Fluffington, and Astralux were even more worried than she was. Unlike Wendy, they had a connection with Nox and could feel the connection disappearing bit by bit.

[Wuwuwwuw!] Tears pooled in Thirteen's eyes as the panda saw Nox's miserable state. He could feel that their connection was being severed gradually. He didn't know what would happen if the connection was cut off completely, but he instinctively knew it would be something very terrible.

Fluffington tried to keep a straight face, but it was very difficult. He had heard what Wendy had said and had telepathically communicated with Astralux to hasten her pace.

Feeling the gravity and weight of the situation, Astralux took on a gloomy shade, suggesting that she was very sad. Tears had pooled in her eyes. She had already lost her parents and didn't want to lose Nox too.

The only reason she wasn't outright crying like Thirteen was that Fluffington had told her there was still time for Nox to be saved if she hurried towards the direction Wendy pointed at.

However, this was a very difficult task because Astralux didn't possess flight—her skill was called Levitation, a much weaker version of flight.

Regardless, burning through her energy reserve, she tried to accelerate her speed to the best of her ability.

While a giant octopus/jellyfish-like creature was speeding through the air, a woman with dark hair and mesmerizing ruby eyes followed them at the same pace on the ground.

Soon enough, the jellyfish arrived outside a small cottage-like building.

Attracted by the sudden sound, the couple who had nursed Wendy back to life rushed outside with frightened expressions on their faces when they saw the giant creature outside their home.

"Heavens! What is that?" the wife exclaimed, rushing behind her husband, who, despite being an old man, tried to stand his ground against the creature, though his legs were wobbling.

"Aunt, Uncle Bradford, it's me, Wendy!"

At that moment, Astralux freed Wendy from her tentacles, and she rushed towards the frightened couple. Wendy urgently explained the situation to them, and the couple immediately brought Nox into the house, laying him in the same bed Wendy had occupied a few days prior.

Then they called for the same healer who had nursed Wendy back to life.

The couple watched from a relative distance as the healer attended to Nox. Beside the healer was Wendy, who was repeatedly asking a series of questions about Nox's condition.

The couple could see that Wendy really cared about the boy she claimed to be her brother. After Wendy had woken up, the white-haired girl had cleaned their house and even gave them a huge chunk of money as thanks.

While treating her, the healer had already confirmed that she was Awakened, so they weren't surprised she had such a large amount with her. Still, they had rejected her money and told her that they weren't doing it for the money.

Cleaning up the house was already enough. During the first few days they spent together, the couple discovered that the girl was very respectful and had a kind, gentle heart.

At that moment, the healer's expression turned grim. For the past hour, she had been expending mana trying to cover the gaping wound on Nox's stomach; however, the wound refused to close, and Nox's breathing had become shallow, barely perceptible. His once sharp and vibrant black eyes now stared blankly at the ceiling.

Wendy asked in a worried tone, "What is it?"

The healer hesitated for a while, then stammered, "T-this... I can't heal him."

"What do you mean you can't heal him?!" Wendy shouted in a slightly heightened voice. Wasn't she a healer? Isn't it her job to heal people? Wendy was perplexed; her mother was a healer, after all, and she had never said something like this.

After some time, the healer spoke, "It seems a cursed weapon has been used on him."

"Cursed weapons? The ones crafted by dark mages?" Wendy's eyes widened.

Cursed weapons were crafted by some of the most malevolent dark mages, imbued with a sinister energy that resisted normal healing methods. The effects of these weapons weren't just physical—they corrupted the victim's life force, making it nearly impossible for conventional healing to work. Wendy's mind raced.

She had heard about such weapons before, but seeing their effects firsthand on someone she cared for was an entirely different ordeal.

"Yes," the healer confirmed grimly, her eyes heavy with the weight of the situation. "Even if I can close the wound, the curse will keep festering inside him. Only a special antidote or purification spell can save him now... and those are usually with the one responsible for the curse."

"Wait, does that mean?" Wendy stammered.

"He's going to die if the antidote isn't administered quickly," the healer spoke in a somber tone. "It's still a surprise that he's still alive; he should have been dead a few minutes ago."

"Don't say something like that!" Wendy retorted as she grabbed Nox's pulse but then she froze... the pulse was gone.

Wendy's hand trembled, her eyes widening in shock. She pressed her fingers harder against Nox's wrist, desperate to find even the faintest sign of life, but there was nothing. The cold, still skin beneath her fingertips told her what she didn't want to accept.

"No… no, no, no…" Wendy's voice broke, her heart pounding in her chest. She turned to the healer, her face a mixture of disbelief and despair. "You have to do something! He can't—he won't—"

"I'm sorry," the healer said softly, her gaze falling to the floor. "There's nothing more I can do... I'm truly sorry."

Wendy's body went cold. She stumbled backward, clutching her head as though the world was collapsing around her. However, before she could fall, the couple held her.

Fluffington, who had been standing silently by the bedside, slowly approached Nox. His normally sharp and mischievous eyes were clouded with sorrow, his tail limp. story-at-NovelFire

The cat hopped onto the bed beside his master, pressing his head against Nox's chest, trying to find any semblance of the connection they once shared. But all he felt was emptiness.

[Nox... Brat] Fluffington whispered through their bond one last time, but there was no answer. The bond, once so strong, had been completely severed.

[Wuwwuwuw!] Thirteen let out a pitiful cry from the corner of the room, his large, round eyes filled with tears. Even Astralux, who had returned to her non-combat form, turned an even darker shade as all the tears she had been holding back poured out like a deluge. Was she just bad luck?

"He can't be gone… what would I tell aunty Aina and uncle Nathan...what would I tell mother?" Wendy sobbed as she gently squeezed Nox's hand as if somehow her touch could bring him back. But there was no response, no warmth. Just the cold, empty reality that Nox was gone. "He can't… we were supposed to save him…"

The healer stepped back, giving the group space to grieve. She had seen death before, but there was something especially tragic about this one. The boy had been so strong, had fought so hard, but in the end, even strength couldn't save him from the curse.

While the small cottage was filled with sorrow, somewhere else, a beautiful woman with piercing, sparkling blue eyes and feline ears sticking out of snowy hair looked at a dark-haired boy with lightless eyes in amusement.

"When are you planning on using that skill, stupid Versal?They're starting to believe you're actually gone."