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nAfter hearing Gaius' response, Ervas and Veronica smiled.

n

"Very well then, Gaius, stay there… I'm going to do something that might disturb you, but believe me, it is nothing that will harm you

" said Ervas.

nGaius glanced at the two-year-old boy's crimson eyes, his little body and physique would never give anyone the impression that he could harm someone in their entire lives… but the atmosphere he exuded from within his body was tense, this was Ervas' Mana, which was constantly expanding and contrasting automatically.

nThis was something that he did by instincts at this point, and it was a practice done to increase his maximum mana by expending it and then refilling it through Mana Transfer and Mana Drain. He had become so good at this that only the certain targets that he desired would be affected, so those that weren't would only feel that the little body of Ervas exuded a powerful presence despite being small and defenseless-looking.

nGaius, however, did not feel any intimidation from Ervas, at most it was an odd pressure put into his soul, but this pressure, instead of harming him, was like that of a tight and warm hug. It was like the pressure of something that means no harm but an embracing acceptance.

nGaius felt the same thing from Veronica, and he could not help but find them, trustworthy people, as even his instincts, those of a bear-man refined through hunting his entire life were not on alert.

n

"Hm,

" said Gaius, keeping his eyes low and nodding in affirmation, he did not want to muster words as his throat was very dry.

nErvas then sat down behind Gaius as he saw how tall the man's torso was, resembling a tower before his little toddler body.

n

"Will I get as big as him one day?

" wondered Ervas as he used the 'Phantom Form Transformation' skill, transforming his arms into phantom and then shaping them as little tentacles that entered Gaius' torso, slowly reaching his soul.

nWhen Ervas phantom tentacles reached Gaius' soul, the man could not help but flinch for a second.

n

"Ugh…

"

nThe feeling of having one's soul touched was something rather new to him, similarly to how Anna felt it when she used her prosthetic leg, though that work was done by Veronica's clone which was the leg itself, these prosthetic legs weren't clones, so Ervas had to do it this time.

nThe soul had as many senses as the physical body, but these would often remain dormant within an individual, as they would be born with a physical body and would develop it instead of their very souls, it was easier to use your brain to think than your soul, and it was easier to use your eyes to see instead of your soul.

nEspecially when for the use of one's soul, there was a need for some knowledge and also magic and mana. Most people, even adventurers that had reached such ranks as S have never been able to use their souls and develop skills often only seen in undead such as Phantom Form or Phantom Materialization.

nAlthough people develop their potential and their soul through the increase of mana or the change of Jobs, this did not mean that they would suddenly be capable of controlling their souls, as some large knowledge about this subject was needed… or the intervention of someone that already knew how to use it.

n

"Bear with it for a bit…

" said Ervas as he moved his phantom-transformed hands around Gaius' soul.

nHe used the phantom tentacles to 'pinch' Gaius soul and generate Phantom around it, it was a small amount, but the Phantom would quickly grow as Ervas feed it his own mana, until it finally covered Gaius soul completely like a transparent blanket.

n

"This…

" muttered Gaius with a dry voice.

n

"It is almost done,

" said Ervas, as he began to stretch the phantom formed on Gaius soul into four, each one for every lost limb while infusing his mana.

nGaius felt as if he had gained something deep within himself, they felt like part of him, but not. It was a strange feeling that he was trying to resist, but he ultimately released sighs in slight discomfort.

n

"Calm down…

" said Ervas, as Veronica quickly put the prosthetic legs and arms on each of Gaius missing limb areas, which looked like armor pieces more than realistic legs, made out of the same metal as Veronica's and enhanced with other types of alloy to make it more durable.

nGaius' arms were cut from the elbow while his legs from his knees and the wounds left were roughly healed with potions of low quality, which let them with ugly scars and infections, which were thankfully healed by Ratatoskr miracle and then Ervas and Veronica yesterday.

nFrom within each limb, a tentacle-shaped phantom appeared from within each of them, which were being manipulated by Ervas'.

n

"Ah?

" muttered Gaius as he saw how these strange and odd phantom tentacles surged from his own body.

nWere these things really part of his body?

nThen, each of them quickly expanded into each of the hollow prosthetic limbs, which then attached firmly to his body.

nGaius felt that each tentacle began to expand into the form of the prosthetic limbs, filling them completely with it… of course, this would have already exhausted his mana reserves if it were not because Ervas was helping him in this regard.

nWhat Ervas wanted to accomplish is to forcibly make Gaius learn the Phantom Form and Phantom Materialization Skills and to level them up so he could get used to their use without needing as much Mana. The main goal is that he would need to sustain himself without any assistance mana-wise.

nGaius didn't felt as if his limbs were back straight away, but felt as if weird tentacles grew from his torso and were now covered in armor… it wasn't at all like the feeling of his limbs.

n

"Is this…?

" asked Gaius.

n

"Now try to use them,

" said Ervas, encouraging the bear-man to move once and for all.

n

"Use… them?

" asked Gaius, as he glanced at his own arms, which slowly moved to his will.

nThe moment he saw how each of the detailed fingers on his prosthetic hands moved one by one, Gaius could not simply process things well.

nAlthough the fingers moved sporadically and chaotically, they slowly began to feel like his fingers.

n

"What?!

" he shouted; Gaius was shocked.

nVeronica gave Gaius a cup of water and asked him to use his new hands to grab and drink it.

n

"Here has a cup of water, use your hands to drink it… try your best, I will refill it until you can manage,

" said Veronica.

n

"Okay…

" muttered Gaius, glancing at the delicious water that he desired to drink to cease his thirst and dry throat.

nThe fingers gently picked the cup as he moved them to his mouth, he then drank the water without any issues outside of his hands trembling a lot, the water spilled a bit outside of his mouth, but he drank the majority of it in one sip.

n

"Haaah… It worked?

" asked Gaius, without being able to believe what he just did.

nJust when he had felt the most hopeless, these two people brought all the hope back to his life.

n

"Now try to stand up, Gaius,

" said Ervas.

n

"Yes…

" said Gaius, using his arms to hold on to his body weight while kneeling and then putting his weight into the prosthetic legs, the legs even came with toes which he could use to grasp the ground and stand up.

nHe felt a bit unbalanced, but as he accommodated himself… he glanced on his legs, the metallic toes, which had sharp claws, moved to his will similarly to his arms.

n

"You're learning faster than we thought,

" said Veronica.

n

"I… My legs… my arms!

" said Gaius, as he walked and then tripped over the ground.

n

"Agh…

"

n

"Come on, it is not easy, but try again,

" said Ervas.

n

"I… I will…

" said Gaius, trying to stand again but falling to the ground.

n

"No… again…

" he said, trying once again and tripping to the ground for the third time.

n

"You can do it,

" said Ervas.

n

"You have to believe in yourself,

" said Veronica.

n

"I… I can… I can do it!

" said Gaius, standing up by jumping.

nClash!

nHis weight hit the ground, but he noticed as his prosthetic legs did not even budge due to the impact.

nHe then once again walked, and kept walking, and walking.

n

"You did it,

" said Ervas.

n

"You got very quickly accustomed to Phantom Form and Materialization… you already got the skills even,

" said Veronica.

nGaius received the notifications inside his mind about two new skills being acquired, the same ones that Veronica had said.

n

"Is this… the power that has let me walk again?

" asked Gaius.

n

"Yeah, we can teach you more about it if you want,

" said Ervas.

n

"But for now you need practice, walk around the room for now, while also carrying this soup and drink it while doing so, a lot of concentration will be needed,

" said Veronica, giving Gaius the pot of warm soup… for some reason, he was even capable of slightly feel the warmness of the soup through his fingers…

n

"I… Alright

" said Gaius, doing as he was told.

nAnd so, the people in the tent glanced as the gloomy and depressed bear man without any limbs had gained them all back and was now drinking soup while walking in circles.

n

"This soup… is delicious

"

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