One Last System

'Are you for real?!' I thought, unable to stop a massive wave of disappointment washing through my soul. 'This was such a great moment; I was so damn happy... Couldn't you wait a little longer, you damned cockblocking monster?!' I screamed out in my soul.

"Are you for real?" Mia voiced out exactly what I was thinking, her face twisting in an ugly grimace of anger. Yet, even with that, she still remained the cutest piece of pie in the world for me.

"Can't you see how badly beaten he is?" She asked. "Can't your damned matters wait until he heals?!" she protested, keeping up her tradition of standing up for me whenever a chance arose.

"Look who's speaking," Vaner sneered in response. "With what you were going to do with him, you dare to claim to care for his injuries?" he asked, openly enjoying the moment.

'You damned, cockblocking monster,' I repeated in my thought, fixated on this single feeling of bottomless hatred and disappointment.

For everything that this elder did for me, his current action was enough to clean the board of favors.

"I was going to be super careful," Mia replied, turning her head aside as she pouted.

"Anyway," Vaner turned his eyes on my face. "Do you still have stones on you?" he asked.

'What, does he wants to exploit me now?' I thought, wary about the man more than ever before.

"Maybe..." I muttered before realizing just how stupid my anxiety was. If he wanted to do me harm, keeping silent about anything would do me no good. "Yeah," I slightly nodded my head, unwilling to go through the pain of my ribs just to make the full move. "Seven of them."

Mia shrugged in shock, sending a wave of pleasure through my spine and making my head rock into the pillow underneath it. Even if she wasn't thinking about it now, she was still sitting right on top of my pitched tent!

Still, the look of boundless surprise on her face was just priceless.

'Are the stones really that valuable?' I thought, realizing the reason for Mia's reaction.

"Great, where?" Vaner asked, not paying my situation any mind.

"Well..." I took a moment to think before casting my eyes down on Mia's thighs.

This time, it wasn't my fault, really. I simply recalled that my sack was still attached to the robe, currently covering only my crotch. As such, it wasn't my fault that I snuck a glance at her exposed skin, not at all!

"Sack attached to my robes," I said, pointing towards Mia's lap with my chin. "Could you pass them on?" I asked, unwilling to let that middle-aged geezer get his hands anywhere near Mia's precious body.

"Sure thing," Mia replied, sending me an affectionate gaze.

It seemed that even this slight intention of mine didn't escape her attention.

Vaner received the sack from Mia's hand. He quickly forced it open before reaching inside and pulling a single stone out.

'Wait, what?' I thought, stunned by sight. 'He touched them directly... without absorbing them?' I realized, watching how Vaner grabbed the stone with his bare fingers.

"I will lower the stone on your hand," Vaner instructed, bringing the spirit stone up towards his face. "When the energy surges inside you, try to guide it towards your injuries," he said before slowly bringing his hand down.

'Is that all?' I thought, noticing that his movement didn't slow down as he pursed his lips. 'Are you telling me that's all you are going to explain to me?' I thought in panic, unsure if I was capable of executing what Vaner expected of me.

So far, all my training relied on what I discovered on my own. As such, there was a damn massive chance I wouldn't be capable of doing stuff Vaner considered to be basics!

Still, his hand never stopped. And once the stone started to slowly merge with my skin, I had no other choice but to at least attempt fulfilling his orders.

The instant I did, my injuries exploded in pain. It felt as if the generally serious yet not-life threatening injuries turned into open wounds that someone filled with liquid fire!

Yet, I didn't cease my attempts. Bit by bit, as the energy of the stone dissolved into my flesh, I continued to guide it towards my wounds, even if it meant a hell of a pain.

"What are you doing?!" Mia screamed out, terror appearing on her face. She shot her hands, grabbing me by my wrist. "Stop it!" She shouted in panic, tears appearing in her eyes.

"Can't you see how much pains he goes through?!" she screamed right in Vaner's face, looking at him as if he was the evil incarnate.

"That's the drawback of speeding up the healing process," Vaner replied calmly, clearly expecting my reaction. "He simply goes through all the pain of healing... at once," he explained.

"Why are you in such a hurry?!" Mia continued to scream, her tears trickling down her beautiful face. In the sea of pain, I was in, her gentleness and worry were my only salvation.

"You don't even have a shred of an idea," Vaner replied, his face darkening. "The shit is about to go down and go down hard," he added, gnashing his teeth.

And then I understood it. While this man was nearly a perfect actor, capable of hiding all the emotions from his face, from all the small cues, I managed to notice it.

Looking at my torture appeared to be equally as painful for him as it was for me.

Thankfully, the process only lasted for a few moments. Once the stone fully disappeared, the pain suddenly ceased, leaving me sweating hard after the onslaught of pain I had just gone through.

Breathing heavily, I could only stare at the ceiling of the infirmary tent. It would take me a little longer to gather my strength.

Yet, even without moving, I could tell one thing. The injuries that made moving around nearly impossible before were now all gone.

Sure, some residual pain was left... but I actually managed to heal up!

"On another note," Vaner turned his eyes to Mia. "I'm sorry. I kinda threw you out for the wolves," he said.

"What?" Mia asked, failing to understand what the elder meant by those words.

"Anyway, let's go. We don't have time to waste," Vaner quickly changed the topic, refusing to elaborate on it.. "On that note, once we are done with your training, I will organize a proper lodging for you," he announced as a lecherous smile appeared on his lips. "In this way, you won't have to go at it in a public place!"