Chapter 38: One Last Hope

Max walked towards the Teachers' building. The sun had already set, and darkness started to permeate. The smoked coffee gave him a refreshed feeling. Now, he felt good both physically and mentally. The rendezvous point was the Academy Head Teacher's office, as the Head Teacher had asked him to come over.

As the building entered his sight, he saw an advanced alchemical vehicle standing in front of the office. Uniformed guards stood around it, waiting.

Max walked directly to the front of the office room, where the Head Teacher's assistant stood in his usual place to the left of the doorway. The assistant gave a curt nod, which Max returned. However, before he could make small talk with the assistant, he heard a voice in his head.

It was the Head Teacher. Understanding this, the assistant did not stop him.

Max pushed open the door and entered. He was greeted by many people, including the Academy's Teachers and people from outside the Academy.

"Young Master Maximus!"

As soon as Max entered, Thure stood up from his chair. Greeting the Max, he walked towards him with a big smile on his face. He was in great joy, and Max knew why. Previously, Max had asked for two days of time, but today, he was already prepared to help his daughter. Thus, he was happy and energetic.

"Mr. Thure, please just call me Max," Max said as he walked forward, greeting the Academy Head Teacher and the other Academy Teachers.

"Student Maximus, are you ready?" the Academy Head Teacher asked.

"Yes, Head Teacher," Max nodded.

"Very well. These are the Academy Teachers who will travel with you, and the Academy Guards will escort you to Mr. Thure's estate." The Head Teacher pointed at two Teachers, one male and one female.

Max gave a bow again to the two Teachers. He had not met either of them before; they must be teachers for the senior classes.

"Additionally, Mr. Thure also came with his own guards, so you can rest assured of your safety," the Head Teacher said, pointing at the uniformed guards in the room.

Max gave a small nod.

"Well then, I wish you all the best," the Head Teacher finished speaking.

Soon, the two Teachers and the guards stood up and walked out of the office. Max followed the two Teachers and entered the vehicle. The two Teachers and two guards accompanied him in the vehicle, with Mr. Thure sitting beside him.

Soon, the vehicle moved, exiting the main gate of the Academy and speeding through the busy streets.

---

The compartment was silent; no one spoke a word. Everyone sat quietly. Max thought they were on high alert, trying to concentrate on any potential enemy attacks. Since many strong people were escorting him, Max also relaxed. He could allow his mind to rest instead of maintaining constant alertness.

The travel took almost 20 minutes. It was a surprisingly short distance, though Max had not asked for the destination earlier.

The vehicle entered the main gate and came to a stop. Everyone in the compartment sat still until the back door was opened.

"Are you ready, Max?" Thure asked as he gestured for him to step out.

Nodding, Max stood up and followed the Teachers again. Once he stepped outside, a large building greeted his eyes. Looking around, he saw a big lawn in front of the building. With tall stone pillars standing before him, it was definitely a grand mansion. Max wondered what this family did for a living; it was definitely a luxurious place to live.

Soon, guards surrounded him as they started to escort him into the mansion. They quickly entered the main hall. As expected, it was huge, yet very few people were present in the hall. Only two elderly people walked towards them after seeing them enter.

"Grandfather, this is Maximus Bransford, the son of Malcolm Bransford and grandson of Graham Bransford." Thure introduced Max to his grandfather.

"Max, this is my grandfather, Clive Curfman, and my grandmother, Glenn Curfman," Thure introduced in return.

Max gave a deep bow to the elderly couple. His mind quickly went back to the Academy Head Teacher. The Head Teacher had mentioned that Thure was the grandson of an old friend of his. This old man must be that friend.

"Welcome, young man. I have already heard a lot of good things about you," the old man said once the greetings were done.

"I hope I will be worthy of those words, Lord Clive." Max was not surprised by the old man's words, since news moved fast, at least among the high nobles.

"Just call me Grandpa Clive, since your grandfather was an acquaintance of mine in the past," the old man said.

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This revelation, however, surprised Max. He did not know his grandfather was acquainted with this old man. While they were conversing, someone came running towards them. It was Mrs. Thure. She had not come to the Academy to bring him along. This surprised Max, as she had been very emotional the day before.

"Hello, Mrs. Thure. Please lead me to your daughter." Seeing the desperation and expectation on her face, Max did not make any small talk.

"Please, this way," she said, walking in front.

Everyone else followed, with the exception of a few guards who stayed behind. The group moved to the second floor of the mansion, with the Teachers walking closely beside him. They walked past a few more rooms until they entered a room painted green, with many toys hanging from the ceiling. It was indeed a kid's room.

Upon entering the room, Max noticed a big, plush bed in the center. On the bed, he saw something that made his heart jump in fright.

As he neared the bed, the figure on it became clear to his eyes. Standing by the side of the bed, Max looked at the little kid. She was in a truly sorry state. Her whole body had shrunk to the bone, leaving no muscle. Her eyes were hollow, her cheeks caved in, and her mouth was dry. She literally looked as if she had not eaten since birth. It was a heartbreaking scene even for him. As for her parents, he could finally understand Mrs. Thure's plea from yesterday.

Furthermore, black, stain-like veins ran across her entire body. Was this the backlash created by the Elixir and the Healing? Yet, she had somehow clung to life for a year. That was a miracle, but what had caused it, the Healing or the Elixir?

Max's thoughts drifted away from his main purpose for being here. Shaking his head inwardly, he moved closer to the kid. Sensing the activity, the girl slowly opened her eyes and looked directly at Max with lifeless eyes, before her gaze shifted to her surroundings.

"What is her name?" Max asked.

"Lydia. Her name is Lydia," Mrs. Thure said in a heavy voice.

Nodding his head, Max moved a little closer to the kid and asked, "Lydia, can you hear me?" Max intently looked into her eyes, and her eyelids slowly moved to close. This was definitely a 'yes' answer.

"I am here to heal you. Do you want to get healed?" Max asked, once again staring at the girl closely. She moved her eyelids again.

"Great. I want you to enjoy this moment. Once I heal you, you will never go back to this, so I want you to relish this state," Max said. In the next second, he placed both his palms above her scrawny body. Seeing this action, the girl closed her eyes.

Everyone standing behind him readied themselves for the moment, especially Lydia's parents and grandparents. They had gone through rough times and continued to endure it, just hoping for a miracle. Thus, when the time finally came, they could not control their hearts as they held each other's hands and waited.

Meanwhile, Max activated the [Salvation] skill, and a white light engulfed the kid's entire body. Max concentrated on channeling his Mana as he watched the kid. In the next second, changes started to appear. The black, stain-like marks on her face began to disappear, and her lifeless eyes started to mend themselves, returning to normal. This change occurred all over her body, not just on her face. Her scrawny body started to turn healthy. The kid kept her eyes closed, and Max kept the skill active, deciding to maintain it until his Mana was fully depleted.

The people around him stood still. Some were filled with anticipation, some were in sheer shock, and some were in complete disbelief. Currently, the white light covering the kid obscured their vision, preventing them from seeing what was happening to the kid.

The old man Clive's face was filled with utter shock. That shock directly stemmed from the skill Max was using. It was white. With all his years of experience as an awakened roaming around the world, he knew what white-light Healing magic was. Although he had already heard the rumors about this, he was reluctant to believe them, as it almost seemed like one of those rumors he heard about a Treasure that never existed. He had heard about this [Primordial Healing] all his life but had never witnessed it, thinking it was just another piece of rumored news. However, it was indeed real.

Although he was an experienced Awakened who garnered respect even from people of higher status, it did not help him find a cure for his great-granddaughter. It was a devastating ordeal to go through. He had tried everything that could offer hope, but nothing worked. That was until a few days ago, when he heard news through a secret organization. Although the news from these secret organizations was almost always true, he still felt reluctant. Could this just be another one of those hopeful things he had sought in the past that was supposed to help his great-granddaughter?

Hardening his heart, he sought his old friend for help, knowing he would receive it. When he heard this news from his friend, he could not help but be surprised, and his hope of curing the kid increased manifold. Thus, he sent people to meet the youth and beg for help. Now, they were finally here, witnessing something considered to be a rumored treasure story.

While the old man Clive was lost in his thoughts, the two Academy Teachers were also in great shock. Of course, they had heard that one of the Academy students possessed an ancient Healing Skill. They believed it since the information came directly from the Academy Head Teacher. Still, they could not help but doubt the claim. There were plenty of stories about these ancient Skills being inherited across classes. These stories almost always remained mere stories, lacking reality. Thus, they were a little reluctant to believe the news. They even expected the student would eventually use some dark green Healing magic to heal. However, that was not the case. It was white light magic, exactly like the ancient Healing magic.

Mrs. Thure stared at the white light as she grabbed her husband's hand tightly. She prayed that when the white light disappeared, she would not see a weathered body still lying on the bed, just as she had experienced hundreds of times before. She only hoped to see her daughter whole, just like the beautiful kid she used to be. But would that miracle happen? She did not know. As she saw the white light start to disappear, she closed her eyes. She could not bear to witness another failure. She did not have the courage to look at her daughter's body, just in case she saw the same result as always.

"Mother."

However, while her eyes were shut tight, she suddenly heard a voice calling her. A shock went through her spine. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the bed. A little girl was still lying in the same position as always, but now, she saw a difference. There were no caved cheeks, hollow eyes, or weathered limbs like she was used to seeing. Instead, what she saw was a young girl with sparkling eyes, shining cheeks, and healthy limbs. Looking at this, she recognized the face; it was her daughter. She looked exactly as she used to be. Tears automatically fell as she ran forward and hugged her daughter tightly. A howling cry echoed in the room. Seeing this scene, everyone present could not control their emotions as their eyes blurred.