Xiao gently combed through Iva's hair, the fresh cut framing her face.

“Alright, all done,” he said, setting the comb aside. Iva remained entranced by her reflection in the mirror, her fingers lightly tracing the new lines of her haircut."

Xiao looked at her clothing and thought to himself.

("I can't just return her to her home with those clothes, right?")

Deciding on what he would do next, Xiao went out and came back with a measuring tape.

"Next, I'm gonna take your measure, don't worry, it will only take a few seconds," Xiao told Iva.

Iva nods her head in agreement and follows Xiao's instruction.

And just like Xiao said, it only took a few seconds for Xiao to finish measuring her body size.

"Perfect. Now I can start working on it," says Xiao with a happy face.

Iva looks at him with a curious expression.

"Oh, give me some time and expect something good to come out. I assure you that it will be worth the wait," said Xiao.

Though she still has no idea what Xiao was saying, Iva nods her head in quiet.

"Now then, let's take a tea break. I always wanted to share my flower tea with others. It goes well with nuts too, I'm sure you will love it."

Xiao was getting excited. Not only can he finally be able to share all the things he wishes someone to enjoy, but it has also been too long since he spoke for so long in one day.

Xiao didn't notice that while he was happily marching to the living room, Iva was having trouble breathing.

Finally, she falls to the ground. Her whole body was trembling in pain.

Xiao heard the loud crash behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Iva on the floor. Her complexion has turned pale.

The joyful face Xiao was wearing right until now immediately disappeared as he quickly carried her to the room she was sleeping in.

As Xiao puts her in the bed, he activates Gamer Eyes to check her condition.

"Shit! Just as I fear, her mana in her body is acting up again."

Xiao's Gamer Eyes reveal that the mana within Iva's body has suddenly gone active. They were spreading to Iva's entire body and expanding, which caused tremendous pain to her.

The pain Iva felt was similar to someone pumping a lot of air into her blood vein.

While Iva was shaking and biting her lip to withstand the pain, Xiao could only hold her hand and watch. There was nothing he could do to undone the sickness.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Unlike injuries or viruses, there's no potion nor recovery magic to get rid of mana.

Xiao clings hard to Iva's hand, hopelessly thinking that at least this can provide some sort of comfort to her. Until he remembers something.

"....no, wait. There's one more, one more way that I haven't tried yet."

With that in mind, Xiao walks out of the room and heads to his workshop. He went to a shelf and took out something from the top column.

Xiao then went back to the room, sat beside Iva, and looked at what he had taken, a bottle containing many dark particles.

These ominous-looking dark particles can't be found anywhere in this world. No books have a record of them.

They were from Xiao. To be more precise, they came out whenever Xiao was recovering from injuries.

Xiao thought that the particles were some kind of mana or magic. Still, even his Gamer Eyes was not able to analyze its properties.

He also tried mixing with other things to see if he can get anything out of it or not.

The result was that the particles will absorb mana and magic. Any elemental stones that come near to it will be effectively turned into any ordinary rocks.

Besides, there were no containers and bottles that contained the dark particles, except this one bottle Xiao found at the workshop.

The bottle can't be analyzed by Xiao's Gamer Eyes, so Xiao can't replicate it.

What shocked Xiao the most when he found it was that it was made out of plastic, a material Xiao never expected to find in this world.

Whatever the case was, Xiao only cares about how it can absorb mana. That was all he needed.

"This will be a gamble, but it's better than doing nothing at all," says Xiao as he makes up his mind. There was no way to tell whether it will have a side effect, nor whether it will have any effect at all, but this was the only way Xiao can think of for now.

"Here goes."

Xiao pops open the bottle and quickly sticks one of Ivan's fingers into the bottle.

The dark particles dance around Ivan's finger while Xiao holds her hand, praying that it will work.

Iva, while still in pain, grips Xiao's hand in return.

("Please, please work!")

There may be no clock in the room, but Xiao can hear the time ticking in his mind. How much time has passed? Are the dark particles absorbing her mana?

Those were the thoughts running in Xiao's mind because he was doing something with too many unknown factors. Still, Xiao continues to sit by Iva's side and holds her hand.

An unknown amount of time has passed, Xiao felt Iva's grips gradually soften down.

Initially, with his eyes closed, Xiao opens back his eyes and activates Gamer Eyes again to check on Iva's condition. He was already prepared for the worst result.

"....it works....It works! It FREAKING works! Woohoo!"

Xiao shouted out loud in relief after getting the report from his eyes.

The mana in Iva's body has successfully reduced to a safe boundary. The dark particles experiment was a success.

"Thank goodness....thank goodness..." said Xiao as he let out a sigh.

Xiao suddenly felt weak on his knee. He fell to the floor with a trembling body.

Xiao laughs miserably at his pathetic state. He never thought that he would be so shaken by someone he just met.

"She's asleep now," Xiao looks at Iva's peaceful face. Her complexion also slowly returns to normal.

Xiao went out to take a towel and a small bucket of water. He then uses the towel to wipe off the sweat on Iva's face.

"Now that I took a good look at her face, she got quite a cute look. I bet she's the popular girl back in her hometown."

When Xiao was done wiping her and was about to leave the room.

"....grand...ma..."

Xiao heard Iva's calling out. He turned back and found her suffering in her sleep as if she was having a nightmare.

Xiao returns to the seat and holds her again.

"Don't worry. You're safe here," Xiao gently whispers.

Iva's expression gradually softens down. And even then, Xiao continues to stay by her side.