Vell went back to the cave and found Yenna lying on the ground, breathing hard. He knelt down beside her, feeling her pulse, noticing that her body was hot, too hot. He poured more of his mana into her body but it wasn’t helping at all.
"Dammit, if this continues, she’s going to die. I have to do something." He thought long and hard on a solution but nothing came to mind. That’s when Wren jumped on his shoulder, rubbing his face to comfort him.
"Master, what if you form a bond with her? We use your mana to heal ourselves because of the link between us. If you can find a way to form that link with her, it could save her life." His eyes widened, it wasn’t a bad thought, but there was one issue. Yenna was human, not a beast.
’This won’t work—’ His thoughts shifted back to the conversation he’d had with the system on what truly classifies as a ’beast.’ ’Wait, beasts have corrupted mana in their bodies. It’s the thing that makes them who they are. This allows a human like me to use a skill in order to form a bond with them. I’m not sure how it truly works, but if all I need is corrupted mana for the bond to take place, then I think there might be some hope.’ He rubbed Wren under her chin, his smile slowly coming back.
"Thanks, kiddo. You’re the best."
’He just called me kiddo? Does that mean he sees me as his child?’ Her tail showed just how happy she was about this.
He placed a hand on Yenna’s chest, began concentrating. ’My corrupted core is empty, but thankfully this place is full of corrupted mana. I’ll use that.’ He slowly sucked in the mana, passing it through him, then directing it into Yenna slowly. Her body twitched, trying to reject it. ’I’m sorry about this. We worked so hard to remove it, but I have no other choice, it’s the only way to save you.’ Her body twitched strongly, blood began coming from her mouth, from her eyes.
"Just hold on, fight through it." He located her core, it was shattered by the attack. ’Dammit, this is getting complicated.’ He pushed the pieces back together, performed the same procedure he’d done to his cores. This was a long process, a few hours later he was nearly done with everything.
’Okay, last step is to fill the core, gently allow the mana to flow through her.’ He did just that, this step wasn’t too hard as he’d done it multiple times. He opened his eyes, sighed. "Now for the moment of truth. If this doesn’t work, then I might have just ruined her body." He activated his taming skill, a light enveloped her body.
"Huh, system, where have you been?" No response. "Hey, why are you not talking?" The silence was beginning to get on his nerves. "Sigh, whatever, guess the system is working but the consciousness is still not back? I don’t know what’s going on."
He tried the skill again. Check latest chapters at 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑~𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖾~𝖓𝖊𝖙
"Fuck, why is it not working!" He tried again.
He was relentless, he would make this work no matter what.
He leaned back, his body exhausted, his mind tired, but at least he’d succeeded, he’d saved her life. Or so he thought, nothing in life was that easy. "KUGH!" Yenna began coughing up black blood, her veins popping out as if they were ready to explode, she was experiencing mana backlash. It was too much mana for her injured body to handle.
"No, no, what’s happening!" He held her in his arms, not sure what the problem was. He’d completed all the steps correctly, but why was she getting worse? ’Did I miss something? I don’t get it, why is her condition worsening? Did I make a mistake along the way? No, I did everything perfectly, this is something else.’
"Master, you need to regulate her mana intake. Her body isn’t able to handle your mana yet. First, stop her body from absorbing mana, then remove some of the mana in her core, leave it almost empty. This will help her body adjust," Wren advised, touching Yenna with her paw.
’Just how does she know all this stuff? Is it because she’s gained intelligence? Well, thanks to her, I know the issue now.’ He followed her instructions, Yenna finally calmed down. Her breathing returned to normal, her body began to slowly heal.
"Phew. That was close." He picked up Wren, began stroking her fur. "It’s all thanks to you... thank you. I’m glad I chose you as my first kid." She didn’t say anything, instead she just played around in his arms. This was enough for him.
’Now that I healed her, it’s time to get my mind back to the real goal... mother... but before that, I need to rest... just for ten minutes...’
"Vell... Vell?" The voice felt distant, but the longer he listened, the clearer it became. "Vell, wake up." He opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Yenna looking at him with a worried expression. "Oh, you’re up... why do you have that expression?" Her tears began flowing, she jumped on him, hugging him tightly.
"I was so scared of dying. I’ve never experienced such a thing before. My body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside. And then... I felt you. Your mana, your presence... it pulled me back. I don’t even know how to thank you. I owe you my life."
He sat up slowly, still groggy from exhaustion. "You don’t owe me anything. I wasn’t about to let you die. Not after everything we’ve been through. But I need to know, how do you feel now? Any pain? Weakness?"
She shook her head, though her grip on him didn’t loosen. "No pain. Just... warmth. Like your mana is still there, lingering inside me. It’s strange but... comforting. It’s as if a part of you is keeping me steady."
"Good," he muttered, though his brows furrowed. "The bond seems to have stabilized. You’re... linked to me now. I had no choice but to use my taming skill to save you. That’s why you’re feeling my mana. It’s flowing through you because of the bond."
Her eyes widened. "Linked to you? Does that mean—" She jumped back, her face red. ’I’m ’connected’ with him... I’m...’ She loved it, she didn’t care how, all she knew was that she loved it.
He looked at her flustered state, it brought a smile to his face. ’Yeah, she’s part of my life now, I can’t imagine her not being here... I’ve grown attached... it’s not too bad.’
[System evolution complete... initializing new leveling system.]