Chapter 2967 Fire of Knowledge (Part 1)
The room was quiet. Everyone respected their moment except for Kalla who kept writing down her notes and accessing to the collected data in the Library to adapt the procedure to Lichhood.
"Do you think you still have a human form?" Friya asked and Nalrond's stomach growled in reply.
"Maybe." He shrugged, and the simple gesture was strong enough to push her two steps away. "Gods, I'm so sorry."
Nalrond had never been so heavy and strong so he had no control over his new form. A quick examination confirmed that Friya was alright. Her enhanced body and the armor she wore protected her from his clumsy touch.
"Don't worry. We can work this out. It happened to me as well right after Faluel Awakened me." Friya had lost count of the cups she had broken and the ribs she had cracked by hugging people. "Your human form can wait. First, we all need food and rest." She said.
"Lots of rest." Faluel took the Eyes off and assumed her human form, reducing the number of throbbing heads to one. "Even with the tower and the Sage Staff, my head is killing me.
"During the procedure, I've used Invigoration to recover my mental focus so many times that it has barely any effect." The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
"You should also thank my sister, jerk." Friya hugged him with all of her strength, inwardly glad she didn't have to hold back with him anymore.
"That's right, Quylla!" He felt terrible for almost forgetting about her but she had remained silent the whole time and had yet to move from her position near the surgical bed. "Is everything okay?"
Her face was deathly pale while her breath quick and shallow. The moment she opened her mouth, she started to puke her guts out. Quylla fell on all fours, her body shaking uncontrollably.
Tista ran to her side and was about to check on her with Invigoration when Faluel stopped her.
"Don't! She's suffering from mana poisoning. Even with the Library, Solus and I had to share with her lots of information during the procedure whenever she needed to make a snap decision."
"What about Lith?" Tista pointed at her brother who was in tip-top shape.
"Solus and I have our bond. Her mana is my mana." He replied. "Also, I have the tower empowering me. My mana flow cleansed the foreign energy signatures before they could build up and reach my core. Quylla wasn't so lucky."
Meanwhile, in the Empire, Leegaain blushed.
Agni was one of his old aliases back when he traveled Mogar, teaching people how to use fire to purify metals and the importance of keeping written recordings of their discoveries. Yet this is a story for another day.
"He's not of Dragon blood but I'll allow it." The Guardian said to Milea, who noticed his tail wagging in excitement.
"How magnanimous of you, letting others carry your name and stroke your ego."
***
Back in the Verhen Mansion, Kalla and Tista procured enough food for everyone while Quylla only drank potions until her body recovered enough to ingest solids. After they finished eating, Nalrond could thank Faluel and Quylla without his gratitude making their condition worse.
"Thanks, master Faluel. In the end, I was right. I didn't need your bloodline technique to survive. Only your help." He said while offering her his hand.
The Hydra was about to shake it, when an involuntary reflex caused a long spike blade to erupt from the Agni's backhand, stopping millimeters away from her heart.
"Is this a weird coincidence or some passive-aggressive threat for not sharing my technique?" Faluel studied the blade, discovering that it was razor-sharp and dense enough to pierce through the enhanced body of another Awakened.
"It was an accident, I swear!" Nalrond pulled his right arm away only for a second blade to come out of the left hand and almost give Friya a haircut.
"Hey! Be careful with those things." She checked her hair, finding no missing locks. "Why didn't you warn us about them?"
"Because I'm still resting and Kalla forbade me even to use my breathing technique! How was I supposed to know?" He tried to flex and relax his muscles to have the blades go back in.
They were as long as his forearm and made it impossible for him to grab something without knocking it over.
His attempts to get rid of the blades were rewarded by two more spikes erupting from his knees.
