Blood Evolution System

By using a teleportation portal that Melody opened with her ability to control space, she brought Nevis outside of the monster tower. John and Iris were already there.

However, they didn't notice their arrival, not only because they appeared behind them without any commotions, but also because their surroundings were too mysterious. The place where they were at was ever charging. Currently, it appeared like a bright and airy garden, one with many trees around them and a lake in front of them. In the center of the lake floated the monster tower. Near the edges of the lake, there were rows and rows of trees. The trees spread their shadows across the edges of the lake. A few lamps here and there brightened up the atmosphere but not entirely, and most of it was draped in shadows.

John and Iris had appeared here after exiting the monster tower. This place reflected the memories of the iron-clad lady, more specifically, it mimics the places she had been to when she was alive. They had given up at the third and second floor, respectively.

They knew that they had reached their limits, and continuing onwards would mean certain death. They did want to fight for the right to enter the Treasury, but they weren't willing to put their lives at a high risk of death to do so. Besides, Vincent had also told them to give their best shot at the monster tower but not overdo it or throw away their life as nothing was more important than them being alive. Unlike Nevis, they gave up and stepped out of the tower on their terms.

Melody hummed, a pleasant voice sounding in the forest as the cloud of azure wind that carried Nevis moved towards the lakeside. She, too, flapped her wings and dashed after it. The azure winds carried Nevis towards John and Iris, and after plopping him next to them, they disappeared.

"He overdid it." John cursed him as an idiot but not in a bad way.

After placing her fingers on his wrist and determining the rate at which his heart was beating, she concluded that he was fine. "Thankfully, he is still alive and in somewhat okay conditions."

"Really?" John found it hard to believe her words as he looked like a person who would breathe his last at any moment.

When John and Iris looked at him, they saw that his clothes were in tatters, and he appeared more haggard them ever before. With sunken cheeks and dry lips, he looked exhausted and depleted of his life force. Several strands of his hair had changed to white, and there was a sickly pale yellow hue on his face. It was as if a demon had sucked the life out of him, leaving him with nothing more than an empty husk.

"Yeah, I am sure of it," Iris said, this time in a voice carrying certainty.

"Leaving him on the ground doesn't sit well with my heart, especially now that he is not in good shape."

John pulled out a sleeping bag from his spatial storage and nestled Nevis into it, showcasing his ability as a gentleman and highlighting his traits as a good friend. His attentiveness and humane self did do well in leaving Iris impressed.

By that time, the fairy also reached the lakeside. "A good friend like you is what anyone would ask for, young one."

"Just doing what anyone would do."

John turned towards her so did Iris.

"What happened to him inside of the monster tower? There's no wound on his body, but he appears to be on the brink of collapse. His body is cold too. Did he meet some kind of a terrifying monster that damages others without leaving any trace on their bodies?"

John and Iris looked towards the fairy as she was the only one that could give them an answer.

"Nothing of that sort." Melody continued with a thoughtful look on her face, "I believe that his current state is the consequence of him subconsciously using a power that slumber deep inside of him."

"Power?"

"What kind of power?"

"Supernatural cells." She replied with a mysterious smile on her face.

"What do you mean by that, fairy? As far as I know, he shouldn't have any as he is a hollow." John's eyes widened, bewilderment vivid in them.

"The boy is no hollow." She refuted John's claim. "He is more than that, much more than that."

"Can you please clarify it?" Iris asked while looking at Melody.

What was going on, one might wonder. Contrary to everyone's thoughts and beliefs, Nevis wasn't a Hollow but a full-fledged awakened with high-quality supernatural cells. Of course, he didn't know anything about it since neither he nor the crystal ball that reveals the cells in a person's bloodstream managed to detect the ones in his body.

As it happened, these cells responded rouse from their slumber state to end the threats to his life the moment the three apes decided to kill him.

However, by then, he didn't have an ounce of magic energy in his body and only a handful of battle energy, leaving the supernatural cells in his bloodstream with no choice but to gobble up a portion of his life force to release an attack of massive proportion.

They consumed a lot of his life force to destroy the three monsters harming him, and then they used even more of life force to heal his body, thus decreasing his lifespan by around twenty years and leaving him in such a pitiful state.

Of course, the fairy had no intention of telling them that.

"I can say no more."

From the time they had spent together with the fairy and the exchange they had had, both of them knew of her stubborn character, knew that no matter how many times they ask her about the power in his body, her response wouldn't change.

Thus, they decided to drop the topic right here and now.

"Is he fine, or does he need some kind of treatment?" John asked, still worried about Nevis.

Although he believed Iris's words, making sure of his condition wasn't going to hurt anyone.

"Nothing too bad," said the fairy.

"He is just out cold. I believe he will wake up in the next couple of minutes, fresh but not healthy."

"Just like I said," Iris said, crossing her arms before her chest.

"It's not that I didn't believe you." John patted her head with a sorry look on his face. Of course, she melted under his touch and didn't start a drama with him.

"What about the signs of aging on his body?" He asked after some moments.

Having nothing to do, she decided to just answer him. "They are caused by over-exhaustion of his life force. Just feed him a lot of meat, and I mean a lot of it, an inhumane amount of it, and he will be fine in a week."