Nox was leaning on the wall, still shocked by the sudden reward increase. Serian came out and sat next to him, looking at him with a gentle stare.
’This human, why do I find myself getting attached to him more and more?’
While staring, Nox looked over at her, "Hm? Is something wrong?"
"Its nothing at all. Just thinking how much I have changed thanks to you." She leaned back, looking up at the roof. "I am enjoying my time with you."
Nox just stared at her confused, but at the same time, his heart felt warm, hearing those words. He just looked away, not sure what to say. Unlike when he is around most people, this elf made him feel soft.
"It’s cool I guess," he said, looking back at her ankle. "About that ankle, I want to try something."
"My ankle? Try what?" She faced him, allowing him to see. "I think its getting better, just a few more days."
He didn’t say anything, he just carefully reached out and placed his hand on top of her ankle. ’This mana allows me to heal myself, so I am assuming it detects damage and works automatically. Then what I extend that mana to someone else.’
"This my hurt or feel weird but bare with it."
"What-" Her body tightened up and the mana entered her word. Her vision instantly swam, making her want to puke but she held on, she trusted him.
The mana felt like a thick, cold syrup as it left his hand and sank into her skin. He could feel it, a part of him inside her, and it was a really weird sensation. Through the connection, he could sense the damage in her ankle, a web of hairline fractures and torn ligaments.
’Okay, it sees the problem,’ he thought, his own body tense with concentration. ’Now, fix it.’
Serian’s whole body went rigid. It wasn’t a gentle warmth, it was a searing, grinding pain. It felt like her bones were being forcefully snapped back into place by an invisible, angry hand. She let out a choked gasp, her nails digging into the blanket she was sitting on.
She could hear a faint, wet cracking sound coming from her own body.
Nox felt a sharp echo of her pain through the mana, and it made him flinch. ’Shit, this is hurting her. A lot.’ He grit his teeth and pushed more of his energy into her, forcing the process to speed up.
He could feel his mana draining away fast, leaving him feeling hollowed out and dizzy.
The dark purple and blue bruising on her ankle started to fade, the swelling visibly going down as the corrupted energy did its work. It wasn’t a clean healing, it was just a forceful repair.
After what felt like forever, he pulled his hand back, breaking the connection. He was breathing a little heavy, sweat beading on his forehead.
The intense pain vanished from Serian’s leg, leaving behind a dull, throbbing ache. She stared at her ankle, which looked almost normal again, then looked up at him with wide, shocked eyes.
"What was that?" she whispered, her voice a little shaky. "That... it felt..."
"I told you it would be weird," he said, trying to sound casual, but he felt drained. He looked at his own hand, then back at her ankle. ’It actually worked.’
She slowly, carefully, moved her foot. She wiggled her toes, then flexed her ankle. The sharp, debilitating pain was gone. She put her foot flat on the ground and pushed herself up, using the wall for a little support.
She could stand on it.
A series of blue screens popped into Nox’s vision.
[Your skill ’Shadow Mend’ has been pushed beyond its passive limits through an act of will.]
[New Active Skill Unlocked: Void Stitching - Lvl 1]
[Description: Channel your Corrupted Mana into another target to forcefully mend their wounds. The process is painful for the recipient and extremely costly for the user, but highly effective on physical injuries.]
Serian took a tentative step, then another. She was a little wobbly, but she was walking. She turned and just stared at him, her expression a mix of awe, confusion, and something else he couldn’t quite read.
He didn’t like the way she was looking at him. It made him feel exposed.
"Stop staring at me like that," he grumbled, looking away. "It’s creepy."
Her stare wasn’t creepy, but she looked away anyway, her face feeling a little hot. "I am sorry," she said, her voice quiet. "It is just... I can still hardly believe it. The pain, it is completely gone."
She took another step, just to make sure it would hold.
Nox just grunted, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning on. He walked back to his blanket and sat down, trying to put some distance between them.
But she followed, her limp completely gone, and sat on her own blanket a few feet away. "You healed me," she said, her voice full of a genuine awe that made his skin crawl. "A wound that the Elder said would take a week to mend, you fixed it in minutes."
"It wasn’t a proper healing," he muttered, not looking at her. "It’s just a patch job."
She looked down at her hands, her voice dropping even lower. "I felt your power inside me. It was cold, and the pain was... immense." She looked up at him then, and her cheeks were definitely a little pink. "But now... there is a warmth left behind. It feels... nice."
He finally looked at her, his expression a mix of confusion and annoyance. ’Warm? What the hell is she talking about? It’s corrupted mana.’
"Thank you, Nox," she said, her voice soft but clear. She held his gaze, and he saw nothing but real gratitude in her eyes. It was a completely new look from her, and he had no idea what to do with it.
He broke eye contact first, looking away at the wall. "Whatever," he mumbled. "It’s nothing. Now you can walk, so you won’t be slowing me down anymore."
She just kept looking at him, a gentle smile forming on her face.
’Shit,’ he thought, feeling his own face get a little hot. ’Why is she still smiling at me?’