Back in Emily’s room Valthar gave Damian a last life sense check up while in the corner Mikayla's silver eyes watched with eager attention.

  Both of them felt very certain on what was about to happen.

  Valthar expected a painful transformation of Damian's body, while Mikayla expected to see the man die a gruesome death.

  For good or for bad only a single person was filled with doubt inside the room, Emily.

  Between Valthar and Mikayla she stood with trembling hands, her fingers coiling around a potion bottle filled with the dark purple blood of a C rank beast.

  The blood filled with darkness element mana was not cheap and Emily could not pay upfront, so in the end another year of work at Lamia’s Burrow had been added on top of her already long contract.

  “It’s time Emi, hand me the dark panther blood.” Valthar spoke gravely.

  The life sense scan hadn't shown anything different from earlier, so unless Mikayla had lied earlier, Valthar was absolutely sure this would work.

  Emily hesitated to hand the bottle, the sour price for it meant nothing to her if the blood could save Damian’s life… But if Valthar’s assessment was wrong this beast blood would kill Damian instead of saving him.

  After a moment of stalling a pair of silver eyes narrowed in the corner of the room.

  “Do it Emily.” Mikayla ordered.

  Soon Valthar’s hand grew heavy as his fingers wrapped around the bottle of blood.

  Gently he raised Damian's head, opened the man's mouth and poured a sip of dark purple blood into it.

  This first amount poured was small but the response from Damian’s body was big, as soon as the liquid entered his lips the man's head tilted back and he desperately swallowed the blood.

  Seeing such a reaction Valthar tilted the bottle further, pouring the blood faster into Damian’s throat.

  In moments color came back to Damian’s face… but the color was a neon purple that pulsed from inside his skin.

  “I thought you were cocky, but I guess you’re just insane.” Mikayla scoffed nearby, having at some point stepped closer to watch the scene.

  In her head Damian was about to die.

  Valthar said nothing in response as his attention was fully focused on the patient’s vitals.

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  ‘The flow has sped up and an abnormal amount of blood is flowing out of his bones… just like in the archives.’ Valthar observed through his life sense.

  The next moment, Damian’s veins started rupturing everywhere in his body and blood surged into his withered muscles.

  In moments Damian’s skin started to stretch like a balloon slowly filled with purple liquid.

  “AAAAAAAAAAA!” Damian screamed from the top of his lungs as for the first time in a week his eyes opened wide.

  “Nooo Damian!” Emily screamed from behind Valthar trying to throw herself onto her husband’s body, before Mikayla held her in place by the back of her neck.

  “Quiet down.” The wolf girl demanded, eyes watching as her earlier eagerness slowly morphed into something new.

  While Emily could only see her husband turning purple and screaming in pain, Mikayla as an elemental mage saw deeper into what was happening.

  Each second that passed Damian’s mana presence grew denser at an alarmingly fast rate, before her eyes she saw his body progress the amount a talented knight might take weeks or even months to achieve.

  Amidst worried sobs and painfilled screams the merger kept on.

  For minutes Valthar attentively searched for any sign of a problem, ready to infuse life force wherever needed.

  Half an agonizing hour later and the purple glow under Damian’s skin started to dim, with the whole process being surprisingly smooth from start to finish.

  Appearance wise the man’s skin had darkened, with faint purple markings overlaid where his veins stood.

  Damian’s life force, once a feeble flame, now shone like a bright bonfire that could easily compete with Valthar’s own life force.

  And while Valthar was only an F rank in adventurer’s terms, the amount of life force stored into an energy ring was multiple times larger than what someone could store in their body.

  From his energy sense Valthar could tell Damian had not only recovered his E rank strength, but also grew stronger enough to barely reach D rank level.

  This was equivalent to a mage going from two to three mana rings in a single afternoon.

  After waiting a bit more to confirm Damian's stability Valthar nodded at Emily.

  “He is good now, but there are a few changes in his body I should warn you about…” Valthar said before glancing at the unconscious Damian then at the emotionally spent and red eyed Emily.

  “Actually, let's wait for Damian to wake up so I can explain things to both of you at once.” Valthar said with a tired smile, before walking to the door with his cane. “I'll probably be here in Lamia's burrow for a bit, if he doesn't wake up till tomorrow I'll come check him out.”

  Since the bet with Mikayla a few hours ago he had not eaten or relaxed for even a moment, too focused on finding a way to heal Damian.

  So now together with the feeling of accomplishment blooming in his chest a thunderous hunger brewed in his stomach.

  “Wait mister, before you go how much do I owe you?” Emily asked with enough gratitude to make Valthar blush.

  Valthar shook his head, he doubted she could easily pay whatever fee he named.

  "Don't worry about it, in hard times people should help each other.” He walked out without further thought and was soon followed by the silver haired wolf girl.

  “What is your name healer?” Mikayla asked with brooding eyes as she slowed down her walk so she wouldn't overtake Valthar's limping figure.

  “My name is Valthar, just Valthar.” He replied, slightly amused she only bothered to learn his name after losing the bet.