Alfred placed his hand on Alexia's forehead and immediately opened her spiritual veins up without her permission.

"What's going-"

"We have to hurry." Alfred was not one to waste time. He swept her from the bed and had her in his arms. 'This body should at least be able to do this much.' He already surpassed the late Circulation Stage into a level of his own because his control of qi was impeccable. In regards to the Materialization Stage, even if he trained this body to the late stage it wouldn't amount to much because of his puny spiritual veins. Just using an ignition technique could kill him, so he didn't bother to unlock that stage.

"I-I can walk by myself. You don't have to-"

"No. You're weak." Alfred gave her a stern look and her face flushed a deep red. "I'll carry you."

"…Okay." She didn't argue with him and nestled her face into his chest until it regained its original color.

As Alfred walked into town, Alexia heard very strange things.

"It's Alfred!" The boy said excitedly.

"Oi, Alfred! How goes your morning?"

"People do change, I guess."

"Doing something so daring in public… quite the man for his age."

"When was the last time you carried me like that, honey?"

Alexia was utterly speechless. The people in the town greeted Alfred with genuine smiles. How could such a change happen overnight? He saw an old man come up to her and extend his hand toward her.

"No! I'm… infected. Sorry." Alexia bluntly stated, turning her head away from the man, only to see Alfred's clear gaze.

"This is the man that will help you. His name is Findor." When Alfred opened everyone's spiritual veins, he was sure a few might perish from their inability to understand. But Findor, explained the feeling differently to everyone, in a way they would all understand. If he could cultivate, he could be a world class instructor! 'He should be able to explain the Materialization Stage to Alexia, if he can't…' Alfred shuddered at the thought.

"Hello, Miss Lyasis. Follow me." Findor also didn't waste any time. During their small interactions, he had a full grasp of Alfred's "new" personality.

As Alfred and Findor walked the streets, they could hear the small conversations between busy men, as they begun packing.

"Wanna go for a round of early drinks before we leave? Its on me! Haha!"

"Don't be ridiculous! There are still imperial guards surrounding the town to keep us all in, but the mage is still there unless someone was left out during the examination." One man said in relief, but his wife also wanted to discipline the alcohol-loving man.

"We have to move quick if we don't want to get burned down along the town to kill the remnants of the virus. There are still corpses along other things that still carry the virus and we can't bury them or the soil might get infected, losing all opportunity to return here one day."

"Alright Alright. Sheesh. What a couple of buzzkills. You deserve each other! Hmph!"

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

The couple laughed awkwardly and continued packing with haste.

Alfred also decided to leave, but not without curing Alexia first.

As they walked on the deserted road, they stumbled upon a house of worship for the goddess of the kingdom, Celtia.

"This is perfect!" Findor said. He didn't want Alexia to feel stifled and wanted her to fully concentrate on the Materialization Stage in peace. He observed her and figured her to be that type of woman. Alfred trusted his skills, so he trusted his own intuition.

Outside of the church stood a large marble figure that carried a large blade and was rather scantily clad in armor. Her hair looked alive and was beautifully sculpted by its creator with great care. The model seemed to be in her thirties, yet carried the aura of an ambitious youth.

"What a beautiful work of art."

"You never used to appreciate art, Alfred!" Alexia said excitedly.

"I-Is that a problem?"

"No. I'm really happy! You always used to say art was a waste of time and didn't bring any money!" Alexia chuckled.

"I'm glad."

'He's looking at me like that again' Alexia thought, her face burning. This really seemed like a different man altogether!

They quickly entered the church and marveled at the sight. Renlo was by no means a rich town, but the church itself seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. The mosaics were made up of a myriad of colorful glass and changed the hue of the sunlight as it shove in. Each artwork displayed a battle of the goddess Celtia before she established the Hozart Kingdom.

"Amazing…" Alfred mumbled, causing Alexia to chuckle once more in happiness. Her heart was really in heaven right now and she couldn't ask for more. She was an orphan and Alfred was the only man she ever loved after he saved her from those bandits at a young age.

"Let's begin." Findor interrupted. "Please sit." He politely pointed to a nearby chair that was rather close to the pulpit. If any devout follower were here, they would surely rebuke them and not let them off easily, but the town wasn't short of abandoned at this point.

Alfred gently lowered her into a seat as if he was planning a rare seed.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yeah. Haha." Alexia was overjoyed with his change in attitude towards art and herself. This was a dream come true. As her eyes gleamed over the countless pieces of art around the church, her eye landed on a smaller figurine of the goddess Celtia. It had an aura demure which was a stark contrast from her savage-like battle appearance. She took a moment to thank her for her grace and bowed her head towards the figure.

"Alfred, you might distract her, so please wait outside."

"I'll be right outside the door. Take your time, okay?"

"Nn."

Findor gave a slight smile while stroking his beard.

"Shall we begin?"