I'm The Only One With Cancer-Chapter 150: Finally, Rewards! I

Bang—!

"T-This is... Impossible..."

Adara stammered as she could not help but look above the sky.

It had only been around three hours since the sun had risen, and Zen had just fired the last bullet of the mana sniper rifle in his hand.

He closed his eyes as he deactivated his Absolute Apathy.

"Ugh..."

A groan involuntarily escaped from his lips as his face looked like he had instantly aged a hundred years.

Not only was extreme exhaustion apparent on Zen’s face, but he also slumped on the ground due to the severe mental load that had been forcefully suppressed by his skill earlier.

In simple terms, his Absolute Apathy, which worked like a "dam" to suppress emotional fluctuations and maximized his brain capacity, suddenly released everything he had endured in the past few hours all at once.

Of course, Zen was still relatively fine as his physical body and mind itself had been monstrous due to his stats, but the mental load he had endured to ensure that he could seamlessly follow Adara’s instructions without even a hint of mistake still took its toll on him.

At this moment, Arthur’s voice sounded from the side, "Hah! As expected of my one and only apprentice!"

"Hmph." Adara had a dissatisfied expression on her face.

However, her eyes seemed to have a subtle change whenever she gazed at Zen.

’To think that he really pulled it off...’

Admiration. DIsbelief. And... Hope.

A myriad of emotions swirled in the Saintess of Fire’s heart.

Her eyes then wandered over Arthur, a giggle escaping her lips.

The corner of her mouth could not help but curl up a notch as she saw the always-strict pope celebrating Zen’s victory like it was his.

"My precious apprentice! I really was not wrong about you! You’re very excellent, just like me, your teacher! Haha!"

Arthur was all smiles as he waved the exhausted Zen around like a flag.

"Ehem, ehem."

The teacher immediately stopped waving his student around when he heard a cough behind him.

"What’s this? Are you actually going through with your part of the bet?"

Seeing the cheeky, smug smile on Arthur’s face, Adara immediately leaped at him, "Yes! You can do anything to me foreve—"

However, her face was merely met with a slap in response.

"Ow! You’re so mean! I lost, okay? Don’t you feel bad for me!?"

In front of her teary eyes and exaggerated expressions, Arthur merely shook his head slowly in response.

"Woah, you’re really mean!"

Not minding her antics, Arthur seemed to have thought of something and sighed.

"I knew that you weren’t really serious about the bet. ’That’s’ too precious, so how about we change the—"

"No." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Not wanting to hear what he was about to say, Adara firmly spoke as she approached Zen, who was still collapsed on the ground with depression apparent on his face.

"Huh? Are you really sure about thi—"

Arthur tried to speak in a gentler tone, only to be stopped by Adara with a raise of her hand.

"I’m doing this for our apprentice, too, ya’ know? Who knows? He might be our successor— the only hope for the Temple of Fire to get back up on its feet."

"What did you say? What apprentice? Who’s your apprentice?"

"Bleh~"

Not minding Arthur, she crouched in front of Zen and said, "You’re really amazing, do you know that?"

"Hehe..."

Zen answered nasally as intense nausea assaulted him.

Although his mind and body were fine, due to the forceful release of his suppressed emotions, he could not help but feel severe motion sickness.

It was like being sick on a car ride, except that the car in question was actually a rocket that looped the entire solar system thousands of times.

"Silly boy..."

Adara giggled; the look in her eyes was just like how a mother looks proudly at her son.

Her expression became solemn as she raised her hand towards Zen.

Behind her, Arthur had long lost the cheekiness and smugness of winning earlier, replaced by the same solemn look she wore.

After all, he knew the magnitude of what Adara was about to do.

’I just didn’t expect her to go through with it...’

That was right.

Arthur thought that Adara was merely baiting him, and in the case he won, she would change the reward into a more appropriate one.

Looking at the sky above, he could not help but smile as he whispered, "Will you be disappointed in us, Brother? For giving up the abilities you entrusted to us over a mere bet?"

’What are you talking about? That’s awesome!’

For some reason, Arthur heard a reply in his mind from a voice he was very familiar with.

"No, I’m sure that’s exactly how he would have responded..." He muttered with a chuckle.

Then Adara spoke, her voice carrying the gravity of a sacred vow.

"I, Adara Vermillion, Saintess of Fire, chosen vessel of the Life Flame Attribute, stand as witness and conduit to His will. By the authority granted to me by the God of Fire, I now share this divine blessing with the Apprentice of Fire before me."

Woov—!

Just like that, as soon as she finished speaking, Zen became engulfed in flames.

"W-What—!?"

Due to the unexpected event, Zen could not help but scream out loud, only to find out in the next instance that he did not feel any pain from the burning.

In fact, he could not even feel a touch of searing heat at all.

Instead, he felt a comfortable warmth as his body and mind felt like they were being cradled like a baby.

Following this addictive feeling, Zen felt the exhaustion in his mind rapidly fading away as he heard the System’s ding.

But before he could check the notification, Arthur tossed something towards him, "I can’t let her outdo me now, can’t I, my precious apprentice?"

Not knowing the details of what was happening, Zen was about to ask when the information of the item before him flashed before his eyes.

{Talent Stone

Grade: Mythical

Tier: Top

Effects:

-Could grant the player a chance to awaken a talent upon usage.

-If the player already has a talent, the Talent Stone can raise its grade and tier further

Description:

The power of fate resides in this stone, capable of overturning destiny.

Note: Can only be used once.

Note: A player may only use one Talent Stone in their lifetime.}