I collapse onto the sofa. My body isn’t tired at all, I don’t even have a drop of sweat, only a mind that is truly exhausted from so much effort. My brain feels like it’s melting a bit after using it nonstop every day, all day.
“You’ve improved considerably, I knew you had talent.” Ogi tells me as he approaches with a glass of iced tea.
“Thanks, this last case was more exhausting than I thought.” I finish half the glass in one gulp. This tea is incredible, it contains a bit of life mana capable of restoring the mind, it has become one of my favorite drinks.
“I was a bit worried at the beginning, I’m glad I didn’t have to intervene.” Ogi gives me a thumbs up as a sign of approval.
We both sit down to talk about the last case. He gives me a lot of advice, and I keep asking how I can improve or if I should change any process. These last three days I’ve been in the hospital for 10 to 12 hours each day.
The last case was quite particular. An old lady lost a finger due to a distraction at home. So far, it has been my most difficult healing, I had never imagined how hard it is to regenerate a simple finger in another person.
I have healed arms and legs as if they were a simple nail for as long as I can remember, I have even been able to regenerate half my body at some point. I still have a few bad memories when I think about that fight against the anomaly.
I was very careful the whole time, I couldn’t relax even for a moment. A single small mistake and everything would become complicated. A slight error could cause an abnormal finger or something much worse. In that case, Ogi would have had to act to stop me or cut the finger again.
He would have handled it if something like that happened. The old woman had anesthesia in her arm the entire time, she wouldn’t feel any pain. Fortunately, I maintained as much delicacy as possible throughout the process, the operation lasted several more minutes due to my slow pace.
Luckily, everything turned out perfectly. Ogi checked several times before declaring it a success. The old woman left completely happy and grateful. Feeling a genuine “thank you” is much more rewarding than I thought, feeling her Imra made it even more special.
“Will you stay longer?” Ogi asks me. We had stopped talking because he focused on some documents, and I was resting my mind with my eyes closed.
“I’d like to, but I can’t. According to the doctor’s estimation, Brendu should wake up today or tomorrow. I want to be there for her when she opens her eyes.” I really want to stay and keep training, but my priority right now is Brendu.
“That’s a shame. When you have time, come back here. You’re close to finishing school, a few last lessons would do you good.” Ogi gives me a firm handshake before I leave.
In the hallway, I make sure my disguise is working properly. Rumors are spreading about me working in this hospital, several children have already been seen wandering around trying to see me.
It’s better to avoid any kind of problem for the hospital, or worse, that children hurt themselves just to be treated by me. Hiding my face also prevents attracting attention in the city, people don’t stop staring if I show my face… it’s uncomfortable.
When I arrive, the doctor gives me some instructions in case Brendu wakes up while she’s not there. It’s nothing complicated, something anyone can do. She keeps repeating that I must notify her when it happens, she wants to personally check Brendu’s condition and present a report to the royal family.
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“I’m sorry for not being able to train much these past few days.” I apologize to Glia. She is lying at the side of the room, she has adjusted her size to avoid drawing attention, returning to about the size of a normal jaguar from my previous world.
“You don’t need to apologize, I also have life affinity. It has helped me a lot to feel firsthand Mr. Ogi’s control. Remember who always helps you recover when you’re in difficult situations.” She winks at me.
She’s right. Even though Glia can heal herself like I do, not at the same speed or power, it’s still quite fast. She has been very focused on helping me with healing from inside my cube, at that time she couldn’t help me in combat.
“I still feel bad.” I take some cores from the golems we killed last time out of my storage. “Consider them a dessert as an apology.” I toss a few cores toward her.
Glia catches them easily with her Imra, I can see her mouth watering before eating them. I let out a small laugh before focusing again on my mana control. At this point, I already feel quite comfortable, I just need a bit more practice in extreme situations.
I observe how Brendu’s body makes small movements, I don’t worry too much. I don’t see any sign of suffering on her face, the machine’s parameters haven’t changed, she remains completely healthy, and according to specialists, those movements are very common.
“What could be happening in the empire?” I had forgotten how addictive an object can be. Using the tablet has become very common these days while I watch over Brendu.
It helps me stay distracted and keep up with everything happening around the world. News takes a few hours to update, but information still arrives much faster.
The archduke continues with his rebellion, as Brendu told me. So far, there have been no direct attacks from either side. It doesn’t seem like anything will happen soon, I hope everything calms down, although I have a slight suspicion that it won’t.
When I finish reading the most important news, I decide to check my status, something I haven’t done since I ranked up.
Maki: 17 years old – Ruby Rank (Basic)
ABILITIES:• Death Sharpness (IV) – level 16 → level 17• Warlike Architecture (IV) – level 13 → level 14• Deadly Arcane Construction (IV) – level 10 → level 12• Personal World (IV) – level 9 → level 10• Thundersnow (IV) – level 11 → level 13• Dimensional Step (IV) – level 7• Advanced Vital Synthesis (IV) – level 8 → level 9• Crushing Zone (III) – level 20• Electric Serpent Field (IV) – level 1 → level 3• Gravity Overload (IV) – level 4 → level 6
Laws and pseudo-laws:• Yin-Yang Law: Life and Death• Heavenly Dominion Law: Space• Dragon Law: Gravity• Absolute Frost Law: Ice• Eternal Edge Law: Sharpness• Self Rhythm Law: Electricity• Pseudo Law of Space
Draconic Dominion (Special Banner) – Rank 3
The notifications of my skill level-ups from the tournament are still there. I didn’t check them before because it made me anxious not being able to rank up my only rank III ability.
What is this feeling? It’s much stronger than before. The feeling of being able to combine my two field-based abilities is much stronger. Eisty had already warned me about this possibility… she also recommended not doing it until I could combine it with my ice or death affinity.
I stop all my impulses. I’m very close to checking the notification. I’ll wait to practice my ice affinity the way my teacher explained. She gave me several tips to create a field of ice around me, and Susan did the same with death mana.
My Imra control is already good enough for now, it will improve over time as I fight monsters. It’s time to get serious about obtaining a new ability, I’ve been waiting for it for a long time.
I have a slight hope of combining it with my Personal World someday. Eisty told me that in the future there might be a chance, but for now it’s impossible, my cube wouldn’t be able to handle such a strong ability, it would bring more drawbacks than benefits.
My training is interrupted by a beep. The sound is very different from usual, that only means one thing, the princess has awakened.
I stand up as fast as I can. I can feel Glia laughing at me because I almost fall. I open the door quickly, moving without making any noise or disturbance around her. The princess is slowly opening her beautiful gray eyes, she looks disoriented.
She stares at me for a few seconds, trying to understand what is happening. I can see how her gaze changes after a moment.
“Welcome back, princess, your honorable knight has been waiting for you.” Her smile widens instantly. I approach and give her a tight hug.