Ivan, whose hands never trembled when coughing, was now shaking.
"Hiss..."
Andrew felt a sharp pain in the skin of his neck, already slightly cut by the blade.
Then he felt a thin, warm line of blood flowing down his neck.
"Can...can you put the knife down first?"
Andrew sighed.
Making a powerful Desert Hunter lose composure with just a few words was indeed a bit satisfying.
But if he got accidentally killed because of it, then it would be quite a pain.
Ivan remained silent, took a deep breath, and steadied himself again.
But he didn't put down the knife.
Staring sharply at Andrew, Ivan thought that this guy in front of him must be crazy.
After it was all over, he heard Sofia mention that her daughter was saved today by a young man named Andrew.
Therefore, when Ivan heard Andrew and Sofia talking outside the tent, he already knew: the visitor was today's hero, Andrew.
He initially wanted to give this brat a scare and then kick him out of his tent with a single strike, after all, Ivan had grown to hate seeing outsiders ever since his lung injury. He didn't like others seeing his weak, coughing state.
But...what was this kid saying now?
Cure his lungs?
Ivan was no inexperienced small fry. On the contrary, before his lungs were scorched, he was definitely a significant figure.
He had been to "Scholar's Fortress," the largest city where the "Magic Guild" is located!
No one knew better than Ivan how severe his injury was.
Unlike those unfortunate enough to have their lungs damaged by fire smoke, Ivan's lungs were directly hit and scorched during a battle with a Fire Mage!
This was a far more severe injury than ordinary fire burns, with no way to heal it.
In fact, if it weren't for Ivan's formidable strength and robust constitution, an ordinary person would have long succumbed to it.
"Kid, what exactly are you talking about?"
Ivan coldly looked at Andrew, "Lungs burned by Magic Flames is a terminal illness. Even a three-year-old knows this common knowledge; don't you?"
Andrew snorted, "If it's common knowledge even a three-year-old knows, why are you so agitated?"
Having a knife at his throat for so long, Andrew was also somewhat irritated.
He glared back with eyes fiercer than the other party's.
Ivan paused.
Not because of Andrew's gaze, but because of Andrew's retort.
Yes, why did such absurd words still manage to unsettle him?
Was it because of the rescue deeds of the guy in front of him that Sofia mentioned?
Or because this kid's demeanor was so firm and confident?
When he said, "I can heal you," it was as if he was speaking of something quite ordinary!
In fact, it wasn't like Ivan hadn't encountered con artists before, claiming they could heal his lungs, and there wasn't just one.
There was even one instance where he almost fell for it.
Realizing he had been duped, Ivan taught that con artist a lesson in repentance but he himself had about abandoned the idea of "healing his lungs."
Andrew said, "Fine, seeing is believing; feel for yourself whether your lungs can be healed."
In this Flame Realm, healing someone's lung scorch was indeed unheard of.
Talking is less effective than action, so let's get straight to it.
Andrew no longer cared about the knife on his neck, stepped forward actively!
Extended two fingers, like a sword, slowly pointing towards Ivan's chest opposite him—
Water Spirit Technique, activate!
"This...what is—?!"
Ivan's face finally completely changed.
Almost immediately, Ivan felt: the pain that had tortured his lungs for years, the burning sensation that made every breath torture, was being gently alleviated, slowly soothed, by a mild, cool, and nurturing power!
At this moment, Ivan felt a sense of lightness, long-lost to the point of strangeness.
How many years!
How many years since he last experienced such easy breathing!
Ivan, this tough guy, even felt an urge to cry.
His hand holding the knife began to tremble once again.
This time it couldn't be stopped.
He was indeed too excited.
From Andrew's perspective, he saw two streams of warm tears flowing down the cheeks of the tough guy in front of him.
Andrew could fully understand this.
Because even he felt an urge to cry at this point—
While using the "Water Spirit Technique" to treat the strong Desert Hunter in front of him, Andrew felt clearly: the "Tear of the Water God" in his chest had another reaction.
Though no new skills were unlocked yet, still…the Tear of the Water God was indeed being unlocked!
The Fire Extinguishing Upgrade Method is truly feasible!
The thrill of extinguishing fire once is short-lived, but consistently extinguishing fire endlessly sounds like a viable path!
"However... Ivan's injury!"
Andrew tried to calm himself rapidly from overwhelming joy, "His injury is even more severe than I imagined, much more severe. It seems it wasn't from an ordinary fire disaster...
Such a grave injury, if I can fully heal it, could it unlock enough power to challenge the old Mage Humboldt?"
After weighing the options briefly, Andrew refrained from the impulse to heal the other party's injuries entirely in one breath.
Forced himself to withdraw his fingers, halting the healing effects of the Water Spirit Technique.
Whether healing Ivan completely would immediately unlock powerful combat skills, Andrew wasn't sure.
So a more prudent approach was to win Ivan over as an ally first!
For this, he had to stop and not fully heal the other party in one go.
"Hmm?"
Ivan, just moved ready to tears, suddenly felt Andrew stop and a flash of anger crossed his eyes, but he calmed down quickly.
He silently lowered the knife from Andrew's neck, just staring at Andrew like that.
Moments later, Ivan asked in a deep voice: "Who are you? You are not Andrew."
Andrew felt a chill in his heart but responded calmly on the surface: "Of course, I'm Andrew; who else could I be?"
Ivan kept staring at Andrew for a while, then said, "Alright, what are your conditions? What do you want me to do?"
Being a seasoned veteran, Ivan naturally understood why Andrew retracted his hand at that critical moment.
Frankly speaking, Ivan still couldn't believe his lung ailment could truly be cured.
But even just alleviating the pain would be worth it!
He heard Andrew lower his voice, speaking clearly one word at a time: "I want you to help me kill Humboldt."
Ivan: "?"
Even after experiencing countless tempests and waves, Ivan still looked at the young man in front of him incredulously, scarcely able to believe his ears.
Whenever a Fire Mage is mentioned, everyone's reaction is one of awe, even for someone like himself with past grievances against Fire Mages, it's no exception…thought Ivan.
How could anyone want to kill a seasoned old Mage?
If earlier Andrew saying "I can heal you" left Ivan feeling incredulous.
Now, he truly thought the guy in front of him was insane.