章 21: Hope

Kyle was not a saint nor someone who would waste his efforts on people who didn't take the initiative to change their miserable life even if the opportunity was right in front of them.

As such, he gave the young girl, who he thought had the potential to become strong, the opportunity he had never received in his past life!

The girl's fear and hesitation were understandable, but this was the first step she had to take by herself if she wanted to achieve what she dreamed of.

Otherwise, her dreams would just be wishful thinking, and stay that, forever!

Kyle continued to calmly look at the girl without showing any signs of becoming impatient. She had to trust him first if he wished to heal her.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the young Lohar and Kyle didn't want to rush or pressure her. He wanted the girl to own her decision and not regret it later.

Several minutes flew by and the young girl's legs finally stopped trembling as she carefully approached Kyle.

Her eyes were fixated on him, still trying to gauge if he would lunge at her the moment she neared him. Her vigilance and trust issues were apparent. But so far, nobody had spoken to her so kindly, let alone give her a little hope.

Thus, she was debating with herself and decided to take a chance. Her mind worked furiously and Even the slightest probability that the young man was not lying forced her to suppress the repulsive emotions bubbling inside her.

They were screaming at her, telling her to distance herself from every living being, to stay away from everything and everyone that could hurt her!

However, despite the warning bells ringing in her head, she lifted her small and thin hand as she slowly placed it on Kyle's outstretched hand.

At that moment, Kyle smiled gently as he appreciated her bravery, trying to instill some, much-needed confidence in her.

"Good job. It's good to be vigilant, but I'm glad that you decided to overcome your fear. I hope it won't be painful, but please bear with it!"

The last sentence was the final word of caution he gave to the young girl before he supplied a large part of his stored energy to the Nurture ability.

A moment later, he grasped the hue that enveloped both activated cultivation veins of the young girl with his mind, choosing it as the Nurture ability's target.

While the energy he supplied was used up in an instant, the faint hue he had targeted began to glow in a dim light.

Nothing about the girl seemed to change, and it was as if she didn't even notice anything.

As such, Kyle took a deep breath as he supplied the Nurture ability with more energy.

The more energy his ability used up, the more exhausted he became.

Nevertheless, when he saw that some of the color returned to the young girl's pale face, indicating that her blood was circulating through her entire body once again, Kyle smiled faintly.

She had been weak and malnourished since her birth.

During the last few years, her situation had worsened owing to her desperate attempts to cultivate, to escape the clutches of the merchants who used her as a slave.

Sadly, her life went further downhill when she was thrown away like trash the moment she had become too much of a burden to even feed.

Now, as Kyle used his Nurture ability, the pain she felt was lessening gradually.

She could notice the difference wherein her entire body felt more vigorous as the young girl sensed the surrounding mana entering her body.

It was miraculous, however, before she could do anything, the young man who had attempted to make the impossible possible fell on the ground.

Kyle's legs gave in as exhaustion overwhelmed him, yet the energy he had utilized to nurture the young Lohar's cultivation veins was only a drop in the ocean!

Fortunately, the energy that had been used up was enough to nurture the path connecting both cultivation veins a little bit, making the girl feel less pain.

With blurry eyes, when he looked up to see how much a single session of nurturing had strengthened the young girl, he saw her stooping down, trying to help him get up.

At that moment, their gazes locked.

While Kyle smiled lightly as sweat glistened on his forehead, the young girl, who instinctively wanted to help the young man, exclaimed as she lost balance.

She fell on her back, but instead of pain, the young girl could only feel her cheeks burn.

'His eyes are dangerous!'

With that thought in mind, she hurriedly sat up, while trying to avoid Kyle's eyes that observed her, delighted to see something within her change. His efforts had not been for nothing, after all!

There was a substantial change in her attitude and the fact that she had run towards him on her own told him that he had gained her trust.

But what made him feel truly relieved was that the energy within her was flowing a lot more smoothly than before.

The two cultivation veins were still repulsing each other and the energies were clashing, but Kyle could tell that it was less problematic than before.

"How are you feeling?" Kyle asked in a strained voice, curious to know what she thought about the changes she underwent.

"My cheeks are burning and my heart is pounding at a rapid pace!" She blurted out without thinking, only to hastily correct herself.

"I-I f-feel like the disease has been shoved back, and the pain I feel is a lot less and comparable to what I felt… a few months ago? But it's the first time I can feel, and absorb mana without too many problems!"

The first part of her line was unexpected and Kyle couldn't help but grin, but it faded as he heard the second part, looking at her in shock.

He hadn't expected to cure the young girl right away, but it was already astonishing how much he could achieve with so little energy.

Almost his entire energy reserve had been used up, but the whole amount was still insignificant when compared to that stored by every true Cultivator vessel!

As such, it was great to see that his Nurture ability was better than he had initially expected it to be!

From an ability that he had solely hoped to use in advancing his Spirit Soul's rank, the Nurture ability had become something better, something extraordinary, something that might change his future plans in their entirety!

The idea to nurture one's cultivation potential was not a far-fetched thought anymore.

It seemed feasible after what he had seen transform inside the frail-looking girl through the Nurture ability!

There didn't seem to be many restrictions, at least Kyle couldn't perceive many, and the ability could be used in various ways.

However, what he hadn't expected was that the young girl was quite talkative!

After overcoming most of the fear she had of him, realizing that he wouldn't harm her, she had grown more comfortable around him.

"That's great. I think within a few, maybe a dozen more sessions you might recuperate completely, but I'm not certain about that!"

The little girl noticed something and without any hesitation, she kneeled down on one knee.

"I pledge my loyalty to Master Kyle. Please accept me, a lowly being, as your loyal slave!!"

Kyle hadn't expected this, but he was able to maintain his calm. Despite that, he looked at the young Lohar with a deep frown.

In Kyle, the young girl sensed the opportunity to rewrite her destiny by becoming healthy and fit to cultivate properly.

Thus, she wanted to follow Kyle who would only stay for a few days in the tribe.

She had already become the young man's slave, but earlier it had been against her will!

Now, it was her own decision, and she knew that it was the right choice!!

"No, thanks!"

Kyle's blunt refusal caused the young girl who had just regained her will to stay alive, to stare at him in shock, followed by desperation.

With a panic-stricken face, she began to kneel on both knees and was about to say something before Kyle added further.

"I don't plan on having a slave acting like you currently are. That's annoying and too much of a hassle. Rather than helping, it is a burden!"

These words hit her harder than merchant Zwark's kicks and she could only bite her lower lip, not sure what to say.

"Due to some peculiar circumstances that I would rather not elaborate now, I'm not familiar with the surrounding areas. I don't belong to any of the villages or tribes in the Sadorla forest either.

Hence, I will have to travel around to achieve certain tasks. As such, it would be great to have a guide who knows something about the surrounding area! Do you want to come along with me?"