Chaos Heir

Chapter 880: Metamorphosis

Obtaining answers didn't change Khan's routine. The tournament kept his schedule packed, and there was a limit to how many party invitations he could dodge. The nights after the battles required his presence, and he felt compelled to attend to them.

Luckily for Khan, things weren't as bad as his worst predictions. The noble representatives and other members of the wealthy families could get annoying to entertain. Still, Monica was always with him, and Tlexicpalli and the Thilku Lords often created fun diversions. Moreover, those events mainly showered Khan with compliments, making them easier to endure.

Of course, the mandatory attendance at the parties didn't completely hinder Khan from focusing on his primary goal. Those events could last until morning, but Khan always excused himself earlier, often using the need for privacy with Monica as a justification. He occasionally reached his bed with her, but his training got in the way most nights.

Khan's incredible stamina came in clutch, allowing him to retain that stressful schedule for weeks, but crucial events forced him to take breaks. One was Professor Parver's arrival on the planet, preceded by an angry phone call.

"It's not personal nor a ploy, Ma'am," Khan promised, walking down his building's corridors with the phone to his ear. "I truly think I can help him."

"Forgive my skepticism, Prince Khan," Headmistress Holwen exclaimed, "But you have already taken the Embassy away from the Harbor. Now, you are stealing one of its top scientists."

"I'm not stealing anything," Khan corrected. "I'll try to give him back better than before." "What about the Embassy?" Headmistress Holwen wondered.

"I gave you noble support," Khan stated, "Scholarships, and fame. I think that more than compensates for a necessary logistical sacrifice."

Headmistress Holwen knew Khan was right. The nobles had always kept their distance from the Harbor, but Khan's involvement had put the name "Nognes" on top of each dome.

Moreover, many of Khan's allies had graduated from the Harbor, which awarded the place new popularity. That academy had produced the most accomplished leaders of the young generation, pushing more families to try to send their descendants there.

Headmistress Holwen now had more applications than classroom seats, and they all came from families she couldn't refuse lightly. The matter was a big headache, but the fame was undeniable.

"May I speak openly, Prince Khan?" Headmistress Holwen asked.

"I hope you always do, Ma'am," Khan responded.

"You are changing things faster than I can adapt to," Headmistress Holwen revealed. "Early warnings would be appreciated, Prince Khan."

"I'll try to warn you in the future," Khan promised, mentally accepting his guilt. "The Nognes family will help smoothen any hurdle you are currently facing."

"I'm grateful for the support," Headmistress Holwen said. "However, I can't be seen over- relying on your family."

The Harbor was supposed to be politically neutral, with the Global Army as its main handler. A noble family's support could appear as a bias in the public eye, damaging the place's reputation.

"I'm just fixing what I broke," Khan reassured. "Once it's done, the Nognes family will stay away from your business."

"That's reassuring to hear," Headmistress Holwen commented. "Thank you for accepting my call, Prince Khan."

"My pleasure," Khan uttered. "I'll meet with Professor Parver now. Hopefully, I'll send him back to you fully healed."

"We all hope that," Headmistress Holwen said, and the call ended.

Khan rushed through the building, crossing elevators and corridors to arrive at one of his medical bays. Abraham and a team of scientists had already gotten there, and the same went for the special guest.

"Professor Parver!" Khan announced after barging into the medical bay and finding the pale, skinny man on an interactive desk. "It has been a few years."

Professor Parver didn't immediately answer. He had seen Khan's new appearance on the network, but inspecting it with his eyes had a different effect. Moreover, Khan brought his aura with him, which instantly filled the medical bay and alerted the Professor.

"Prince Khan," Professor Parver muttered, standing up to perform a military salute. "It has indeed been a while."

"How is he?" Khan asked Abraham, who was inspecting the scanner's results on his console.

"He's different from the Foxnor descendant, my Prince," Abraham revealed. "This is a poisonous foreign entity. It actively damages Mister Parver's body."

Khan had already guessed as much. In Roger's case, the unusual mana was the true face of his element. The two were simply at odds with each other.

Meanwhile, Professor Parver had caught that poisonous mana during a mission. It was foreign to his body, causing rejection and injuries.

"Let me see," Khan said, approaching Professor Parver and placing a hand on his chest. Khan's swift gesture didn't give him the chance to react, and his body stiffened in response.

Khan ignored the Professor's stiffness, probing deeper into his body to search for the foreign entity. Finding it wasn't a problem. He could spot that hungry, angry mana with his bare eyes, so a thorough inspection immediately highlighted it.

Khan had even already inspected Professor Parver, but his senses had long since experienced a qualitative evolution. He was better than the Global Army's scanners in many ways now, and his probing even had a specific goal.

The foreign mana had expanded since Khan's first inspection. That energy had stretched past Professor Parver's lungs, tainting part of his throat and getting dangerously close to his heart. His whole circulatory system would soon be at stake, and things were bound to worsen quickly afterward.

Nevertheless, Khan mainly focused on the foreign mana's reaction to his presence. He knew he conveyed a primal threat to his surroundings, something basic forms of energy and animals could perceive better than humans. He wanted to see if his presence could help, and the results didn't disappoint.

The foreign mana noticed Khan's probing and tried to expand in reaction to the invasion. However, the slightest interaction with Khan's aura conveyed its true nature. That poisonous energy suddenly found an apex predator sharing the flesh it wanted to devour, and its instincts urged it to retreat.

Khan pushed his aura more, studying the limits of his influence. Theoretically, he could fight that foreign mana back into submission or even eradicate it, but the reality turned out to be

far different.

Khan's aura could force the foreign mana to retreat, but the latter had already occupied a good chunk of Professor Parver's organs and flesh. They belonged to that energy, and Khan couldn't cleanse it. At most, he could destroy all the infected tissues, leaving the Professor with a deadly hole in his body.

'I can keep it in check,' Khan concluded, removing his hand from the Professor's chest, 'But that's what the Global Army has done until now.'

Professor Parver calmed down while Khan stood silently before him. His presence was still hard to endure, and his bright eyes didn't help, but the Professor was getting used to it by the

second.

"Prince Khan," Professor Parver said once he had calmed down enough. "I did send a message, but allow me to offer them in person. My condolences. Your father's death is a loss

for humankind as a whole."

Professor Parver's words snapped Khan out of his pensive state. He exchanged a glance with the man, nodding in response. Professor Parver had actually been one of the first knowledgeable figures who had shared secrets about Bret and the Nak, and Khan didn't forget

that.

"Garret," Khan called since the scientist was in the lab, "You once mentioned the aided metamorphosis. Would it be viable in Professor Parver's case?"

Garret Bizelli didn't expect Khan to ask for his opinion. The two hadn't interacted much since his arrival in Baoway, making him see his current position as a personal favor earned by Major General Arngan. His expertise made him worthy of the scientific team, but Abraham remained

superior.

However, Garret Bizelli didn't shy away from the question. It was almost a matter of pride for him to help Khan in ways the other scientists couldn't. He carried the title of "prodigy" on his shoulders, so it was his job to abide by it.

"It would be dangerous," Garret explained, "Deadly, even. Mister Parver isn't a fifth-level warrior, and his body is already weakened by the many years of medical procedures. Moreover, his illness actively harms the flesh. There might not be a shape able to contain it."

"Would it be viable?" Khan repeated.

Garret understood what Khan wanted to hear, but his credibility came first. Garret couldn't lie to him, but the question did generate some ideas. Khan's reasoning wasn't wrong on paper, but applying it to the real world was a different matter altogether.

"The process would be highly experimental," Garret explained, his eyes darting left and right while calculations happened in his mind. "These approaches have only served the evolution and have remained unstable and unsafe until now. I'd have to review all our knowledge in the

field even to begin drawing viable ideas."

"You'd have access to it," Khan declared. "Would it be viable?"

Garret's ambition inevitably flared. The Bizelli family had access to many medical records, but they couldn't be compared to what the Nognes family could offer. His knowledge about evolution could skyrocket by accepting the offer, but he couldn't ignore the dangers. "Prince Khan," Garret uttered, trying to find the best words for the issue. "Mister Parver's illness has an unclear element. For all we know, it's a horrific energy, so transforming Mister

Parver through it-"

"Might turn him into something horrific," Khan completed the line and moved his attention to Professor Parver. "The question is, are you willing to become a monster?"