Outside, the villagers had begun to pray. Some whispered softly under their breath, others raised their voices in trembling pleas. No one wanted to lose another soul from their small village.
"When is the priest coming? Who went to get him?"
An old man asked, his voice heavy with age and worry.
A younger man standing nearby replied with a grim expression,
"Mike went out already… but it'll still take some time."
The old man sighed deeply, lowering his head.
"Oh God of Light, please… don't abandon our village."
Hearing that, others around him clasped their hands together, echoing silent prayers of their own. The weight of helplessness pressed on them all like a dark cloud.
After everyone had left, Mark sat beside Meg on the ground. Selina did the same, placing the still-crying child on her lap.
The girl's sobs echoed softly through the room, and Selina, despite trying her best to hold it in, began tearing up herself.
Mark glanced at her and sighed. He felt for her—truly—but he didn't say anything. Instead, he reached out and placed his hand on Meg's forehead.
She was gasping for air, her fingers tightly clutching the cloth sheet beneath her as if trying to hold on to life itself.
Selina noticed what he was doing but didn't stop him, assuming he was simply trying to soothe Meg by massaging her forehead.
Mark closed his eyes and activated his trait: Debuff Transfer.
And then—suddenly—it was like a map lit up in his mind. A scan of Meg's entire body, as if some strange system had digitized her condition. He could see all the debuffs she was suffering from:
Headache. Muscle ache. Tissue melting. Blindness. Blood clotting. Internal decay. Etc.
All of it—caused by a single poisonous snake bite.
Mark stared at the list, shocked by the sheer brutality of it. He hesitated for just a moment before exhaling deeply and making a decision.
He selected 90% of every debuff, deliberately holding back the full cleanse. He didn't want Meg to be completely cured—at least not yet.
If the priest arrived and found her fully healed, questions would be raised. He'd finish the job later, once no one was watching.
But even taking on 90% of her conditions was no joke.
He gulped as fear crept into his chest.
Just reading the names of these afflictions made his stomach churn, but... he had to do it.
He couldn't bear to see another child become an orphan when he could actually do something about it.
He selected everything—90% across the board. For the poisoning, he went even further—taking in 99%. Even 10% of that could still be lethal.
As soon as the transfer began, he felt it.
GASP—
Mark clenched his jaw as a wave of agony tore through him.
It was like a dozen blades stabbing him at once.
His body seized, his muscles going numb, his breath catching in his throat.
Selina noticed immediately. "Mark!? What happened?!"
She leaned closer in panic, but Mark didn't respond. He gritted his teeth and screamed in his mind—
'Instant Regen.'
And like a switch had flipped, the pain vanished.
The torment that had nearly paralyzed him just moments ago was gone.
His body relaxed.
His mental state stabilized instantly, sharper and more focused than before.
He opened his eyes and looked at Selina, who was staring at him with deep concern.
"Ah… nothing," he said softly. "Just… a bad memory."
Selina paused, then let out a sigh. She gently ruffled his hair and said, "Don't think about unpleasant things. Keep doing the massage, okay?"
Mark gave a faint smile, then turned back to Meg.
He resumed massaging her forehead, pretending that's all he was doing.
From the outside, she still looked like she was in pain—but inside, her body was stabilizing rapidly.
He had deliberately left her external sensory nerves untouched.
If Meg suddenly showed signs of relief, even someone like Selina might grow suspicious. And he couldn't risk that. Not even Selina. Not yet.
His Debuff Transfer didn't just move the debuffs—it healed the damage they had already caused. Internally, Meg was now 90% recovered.
With only 1% of the poison left, it would take hours for it to accumulate to dangerous levels again. And if it did, he'd just absorb it again—clean it up without leaving a trace.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the priest to arrive and deliver the "final blow" to the poison.
Until then, Mark would play the role of a quiet, half-healer... just enough to keep Meg safe. But not enough to be noticed.