"What does it do?"
Serathiel asked as she stared at the amber-coloured liquid inside the vial.
"Your body is currently too weak to support your Dragon Heart. This will improve your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and help your blood recover."
Serathiel’s eyes changed when she heard those words. For the first time since she was summoned, there was something... different in her expression.
Hope.
It was very faint, almost negligible, but it was still there.
Maybe...
Maybe this man really could... heal her.
"Open your mouth."
The instructions to apply the medicine were the same as they were when Kaine used the stabilisation kit.
Serathiel slowly opened her mouth as she was told.
Kaine carefully placed the vial inside her cheek and just like before, the instant it touched her inner cheek, her body started absorbing the contents of the vial.
Then,
Nothing happened.
Serathiel remained exactly where she was, there was absolutely no change in her body.
That made Kaine sigh.
Expecting visible results from the very first treatment was absur—
[Ding!]
[Restoration treatment successfully administered.]
[Serathiel.]
[Stage One: Prepare the Body.]
[Restoration Progress: 0.00% → 6.37%.]
[Permanent improvement detected.]
[Strength +0.18.]
[Vitality +0.24.]
[Defense +0.06.]
[Recovery Points +6.]
Kaine froze as he felt a strange warmth spreading throughout his body. It started from his chest before flowing into his shoulders, arms, back and legs.
Kaine felt his muscles tighten, it wasn’t painful, if anything, it felt... strangely pleasant.
He stared at his hand, then, he slowly clenched it into a fist.
Something was different.
The difference wasn’t large enough for him to tell exactly what had changed, but Kaine had trained his body for years, he knew exactly what a movement was supposed to feel like and right now...
He felt stronger.
’...so I got stronger?’
The moment he thought about it, another screen appeared in front of him.
[Name: Kaine Valcrest]
[Strength: 12.60 → 12.78]
[Agility: 13.20]
[Defense: 10.80 → 10.86]
[Vitality: 12.10 → 12.34]
[Perception: 13.50]
[Mana: 18/30]
[Abilities: None]
[Recovery Points: 6]
’This is... mine?’
Kaine read everything twice.
His Strength, Defense and Vitality had all increased.
He had also received Recovery Points, which, from the descriptions he read earlier, seemed important as well.
All of this...
From a single treatment.
A small smile appeared on Kaine’s face.
"...umm."
That was when Serathiel’s hesitant voice suddenly brought him back.
He looked at her.
The Dragon wasn’t looking at him anymore, she was staring down at her own body with a different look on her face.
Kaine’s face changed.
"What is it?"
He asked.
"I..."
Serathiel didn’t finish.
She simply lay there, completely still. From an outside perspective, her body was still no better than before but...
She felt... warm.
Which was strange because for as long as she could remember, her body had always felt... cold.
It wasn’t the cold that came from the weather, it was something deeper.
A constant chill that seemed to come from inside her bones, caused by the lack of blood and a body that could barely keep itself alive.
But now...
That cold was fading.
It was a very small change, but Serathiel felt it. The warmth spreading through her chest, she could really feel it!
Her breathing felt easier as well. Normally, her every breath felt shallow, as if her body simply didn’t possess enough strength to properly fill her lungs, but now, as she breathed in, she felt the difference.
"I... I feel better..."
She muttered in a low voice full of disbelief.
Her eyes actually turned a little moist, it was... a special moment. A moment both Lysara and Nerys watched very, very carefully.
"You do?"
Kaine smiled.
And this time, it wasn’t a small smile. He was genuinely happy. It was working, she was healing.
Serathiel looked at him and nodded.
"I do."
Her voice became a little stronger and... a little less doubtful.
"I became stronger as well."
He shared his special moment as well.
Something very uncharacteristic for someone like him, but at this moment, it felt right.
"...what?"
Serathiel was surprised.
"I became stronger, that means the medicine worked."
Kaine then looked directly into her eyes.
"You’re healing, Serathiel."
Those words hit harder than he expected.
The Dragon didn’t even care how he knew her name, she just... kept staring at him.
Healing.
She had almost forgotten what that word meant.
Every time her body tried to heal before, they broke it again. Every time her blood returned to her veins, they drained it. Every time her scales began recovering, they ripped them away.
And they continued doing it again and again, until eventually, her Dragon Heart had stopped responding because her body learned that there was no point in repairing itself.
And now...
As Serathiel took another slow breath, feeling that small warmth, she clenched the blanket as tightly as her current strength allowed her to.
Maybe...
Her eyes slowly moved toward Kaine.
Maybe this man really could...
For the first time in a very long time, she didn’t completely dismiss the possibility.
Kaine smiled at her, he didn’t say anything else, there was no need. He let her enjoy her moment while he picked up the second vial and turned towards Lysara.
"Your turn."