Ivan, who never trembled when coughing, now had a trembling hand.
"Hiss..."
Andrew only felt a sharp pain on the skin of his throat, a cut from the knife blade.
Then he felt a thin, warm line of blood trickling down his neck.
"Can you put the knife down first?"
Andrew sighed.
One sentence made a powerful Desert Hunter lose composure; that was truly satisfying.
But if a twitch of the opponent's hand accidentally finished him, that'd be a painful death.
Ivan kept silent, took a deep breath, and steadied himself again.
But he didn't put down the knife.
Staring sharply at Andrew, Ivan thought that the boy in front of him must be mad.
After things settled earlier, he heard Sofia mention that her daughter was saved by a young man named Andrew today.
When he heard Andrew and Sofia's conversation outside the tent, Ivan already knew: the visitor was today's hero, Andrew.
He intended to give the boy a scare and then kick him out of the tent, as Ivan disliked seeing outsiders after his lung injury. He hated people witnessing his constant coughing and weakness.
But... what was this boy saying?
Heal his lungs?
Ivan was not an ignorant person; before his lungs were burned, he was definitely a notable figure.
He had even visited Scholar's Fortress, the largest city where the Magic Guild is located!
Ivan knew better than anyone how severe his injury was.
Unlike those unlucky ones whose lungs were damaged by smoke, Ivan's lungs were directly burned by a Flame Magic hit during a battle with a Fire Mage!
This was a more serious injury than a normal burn from a fire disaster, with no cure.
In fact, if not for Ivan's strength and strong constitution, any ordinary person would have died long ago.
"Boy, what are you talking about?"
Ivan coldly looked at Andrew, "Lungs burned by the aura of Magic Flames is a terminal illness. Any three-year-old knows this common knowledge. Don't you?"
Andrew snorted, "Since it's a common knowledge issue even a child knows, why are you so agitated?"
Having a knife held at his throat all the time, Andrew was somewhat annoyed.
He glared back with fiercer eyes than his counterpart.
Ivan was stunned.
It wasn't because of Andrew's eyes, but Andrew's retort.
Indeed, why did such an absurd statement make him lose composure?
Was it because of the heroic deed Sofia mentioned?
Or the boy's confidence and determination?
When he said "I can heal you," it was as if stating something ordinary!
In fact, Ivan had seen fraudsters claim they could heal his lungs, not just once.
Ivan almost fell for it once.
Realizing he had been tricked, Ivan made the swindler understand what repentance meant, but he himself nearly dashed the hope of healing his lungs.
Andrew said, "Forget it. Seeing is believing. Whether your lungs can be healed, you can feel it yourself."
In this Flame Realm, healing a person's lung burns is too shocking.
Let's speak through actions.
Andrew no longer cared about the knife at his throat and stepped forward!
He stretched out two fingers, like a sword, slowly pointing them at Ivan's chest—
Water Spirit Technique, activated!
"This... this is—?!"
Ivan's expression finally changed completely.
Almost instantly, Ivan felt: the illness that tormented his lungs for years, the burning sensation with every breath, was being gently soothed and slowly healed by a mild, cool, moisture-like force!
At this moment, Ivan felt a relief so rare it was almost unfamiliar.
How many years!
How many years since he'd felt the ease of breathing!
This tough man, Ivan, even felt a desire to cry.
His hand holding the knife began trembling again.
This time he couldn't stop it.
He was truly moved.
From Andrew's perspective, he saw two lines of hot tears streaming down the cheeks of this tough man before him.
Andrew fully understood.
Because at this moment, Andrew himself had the impulse to cry—
As he used the Water Spirit Technique to treat the strong Desert Hunter, Andrew clearly felt the Tear of the Water God on his chest reacting again.
Although new skills weren't unlocked yet, the Tear of the Water God was indeed being unlocked!
Fire Extinguishing Upgrade, truly feasible!
The script of constant extinguishing with nonstop gratification seemed hopeful!
"But... Ivan's injuries!"
Andrew tried to calm himself from ecstasy quickly, "The injuries were more severe than I imagined, much heavier, far from what a normal fire causes...
If I can heal him completely, can I unlock the ability to confront the old mage Hubert?"
After weighing for a moment, Andrew resisted the impulse to heal all his opponent's wounds.
He forced himself to withdraw his fingers and stop the healing effect of the Water Spirit Technique.
Whether healing Ivan would immediately unlock powerful combat skills, Andrew wasn't sure.
Thus a more cautious approach was to recruit Ivan first, to assist him!
Stopping here was necessary rather than healing him in one go.
"Hmm?"
Ivan was almost in tears of gratitude when he suddenly felt Andrew stop, a flash of anger in his eyes which quickly calmed.
He silently put down the knife from Andrew's neck and just stared at him.
Moments later, Ivan asked in a low voice, "Who are you? You're not Andrew."
Andrew's heart raced but outwardly he replied calmly, "Of course I'm Andrew, who else could I be?"
Ivan stared at Andrew for a while and said, "Alright, what's your condition? What do you want me to do?"
He was a seasoned pro and naturally knew the reason for Ivan's restraint at that critical moment.
Honestly, Ivan still couldn't believe his lung illness could truly be healed.
But even just easing the pain was enough!
Then he heard Andrew lower his voice, speaking word by word, "I need you to help me kill Hubert."
Ivan: "?"
Despite having weathered many storms, Ivan still looked at the young man incredulously, almost unable to believe his ears.
Just mentioning a Fire Mage evokes reverence, even for someone with grudges like Ivan... he thought.
How could anyone want to kill a veteran mage?
If Andrew's earlier claim "I can heal you" was unbelievable.
Now, he truly thought this boy was insane.