Chapter 692: The First Glimmer of Hope
"Nanawa!" Wendy gave her a reproachful glance.
"I'm telling the truth! It's not just limb reattachment. His Majesty has also had me do many experiments, like swapping the wings of a rooster and a gray eagle to see if chickens can also fly. And swapping the limbs of frogs and mice, or the bodies of cows and sheep..." The little girl counted on her fingers.
The four witches gasped.
Number Seventy-Six, however, was fascinated by her words. Thoroughly researching the mysteries of ability, rather than fearing and avoiding it, was clearly in line with the style of the Exploration Society members. No wonder this King Roland was willing to accept witches. From this alone, he was at least not a stubbornly rigid conservative. "And the result?" she couldn't help but ask.
"At first, most of them failed, but after His Majesty had Lily join the experiments, the success rate increased a lot. It's just that the limbs basically lost their function after being attached, so I had to reattach them again." Nanawa paused, "Ah... I forgot to say, these are all heterologous grafts. If it's a swap between the same kind of animal, you can hardly tell the difference after it's healed. So if you have two legs... um..."
"Ahem, please don't mind," Wendy covered the little girl's mouth. "We'll figure out a way to solve the leg problem. Although it will take some time, the hero will be able to stand up one day, so don't worry."
The others looked at each other, not daring to speak for a moment.
"Anyway, let's heal your friend's injuries first," Wendy patted Nanawa's head with a wry smile. "Go quickly."
Number Seventy-Six quickly put on a complex expression of three parts expectation and seven parts fear, watching the little girl walk up to her and place her hands on her severed leg.
The ring on her chest heated up again.
She suddenly realized she had encountered a troublesome problem.
What kind of expression should she show while receiving treatment?
Number Seventy-Six wasn't sure what it would feel like to have shattered bones and joints healed by magic. Would it be painful, or soothing? Or would there be no feeling at all? Should she scream loudly now, or groan through gritted teeth?
Before she could think of an answer, the little girl had already withdrawn her hands. "Your leg is fine, now it's your arm's turn."
She tried to lift her severed leg and found that it was indeed moving without any hindrance.
Soon, her twisted elbow was also back to normal.
"You're in good spirits," Nanawa looked at her strangely. "Most people fall into a coma after being severely injured and healed, not even yawning. You're the first."
Number Seventy-Six's heart sank, and she pretended to be at a loss, replying, "I, I just..."
"But falling asleep is just a natural reaction of the body, and it won't hurt to wake you up right away, so don't worry," the little girl interrupted. "If you haven't moved for a long time, you might feel a little uncomfortable at first, but it will be fine in a couple of days."
"Is, is that so? Thank, thank you..."
Fortunately, the blonde witch acting as the examiner wasn't here at the moment. Number Seventy-Six secretly glanced at Wendy and found that her attention wasn't on her, but on talking with the hero. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you really alright?" Amy asked with concern.
Number Seventy-Six raised her originally broken right hand and waved it at her. "Yes, I've recovered. Nanawa *xiaojie*'s ability is truly incredible..."
Seeing this scene, the other witches' concerns also dissipated a lot. Amy even gritted her teeth and walked to Wendy's side, tugging on her sleeve and saying, "Please use my legs to heal the hero."
"What?" Wendy was clearly stunned.
"My ability is self-healing. If my legs are cut off, maybe they can grow back."
"No, Amy, don't..." the hero hurriedly said. "You've only suffered minor injuries before. What if they don't grow back?"
"I'm willing to try," she insisted.
"Annie, persuade her!"
"Amy, don't say anymore. Even if you let the hero stand up, she will still be uncomfortable for a long time."
"But..."
"Okay, stop arguing," Nanawa suddenly said. "Maybe there's another way to heal her legs."
Everyone's eyes turned to her.
"I'm already sixteen years old this year, and I'll be an adult in two years. After adulthood, my ability will be greatly enhanced. Maybe then I can directly regenerate an entire severed limb." She pursed her lips. "Also, there's ability evolution – if I can reach the level of Anna and Leaf, maybe I can grow you a few more legs."
"Ability evolution? What's that?" Amy's eyes widened.
"It's when the magic power in the body condenses and transforms into a completely new form. Haven't you seen it before?" Nanawa said proudly. "Anyway, it's very powerful. As long as you behave, you also have a chance to evolve new abilities."
Listening to the little girl's enthusiastic explanation, Number Seventy-Six's heart was in turmoil!
If she hadn't misunderstood, the evolution she was talking about was Advanced Awakening.
But she felt like she was listening to Arabian Nights... The Witch Union actually had several High-Rank Witches, and they had all appeared in the last two years?
How was that possible?
High-Rank Witches weren't like wheat planted in a field. You didn't get as many ears of wheat as you sowed seeds! Every promoted Awakened was a precious asset of the Union. Talent, diligence, and luck were all indispensable. Even she was just an ordinary Battle Witch before she was transformed into a Divine Punishment Warrior.
Why did Nanawa think that most people could definitely evolve?
As long as you behaved, you could evolve new abilities. This kind of talk was simply absurd! Although the more you experienced and the more you saw, the more likely you were to have an epiphany, it only increased the odds from one in a thousand to two in a thousand. If it were that simple, how could the Union have encountered a low period of nearly a century without a single advancement, and shown exhaustion in the second half of the War of Divine Will?
But... facing a group of Wild Witches who had never even heard of Advanced Awakening, did Nanawa need to lie?
If she weren't bound by her "ordinary person" identity, she would really want to ask the little girl about the truth on behalf of Annie and the others.
At least, it was certain that High-Rank Witches did exist in the Witch Union, otherwise, the other party wouldn't be able to talk about it so fluently. But the number of High-Rank Witches was probably an exaggeration, or some people with powerful abilities were high-level members of the Union and had little contact with the newly born witches, so that this little girl, who should have just awakened not long ago, mistakenly regarded some high-level members as promoted ones.
Thinking of this, Number Seventy-Six felt excited.
Perhaps she really had a chance to find the Chosen One in Neverwinter?