After the progress hit one hundred percent, the screen changed.

[Warning: Mutation Phase Reached]

Mutation? Not evolution?

Both are kind of the same thing, so it doesn’t matter.

I looked over at Viora. She was still holding the stone in her hands, but now it wasn’t shining anymore. Rather, it had turned a dull shade of light gray.

’Seems she has absorbed all the power from it.’

While I was watching her, I noticed that the fabric I had used to cover her head was still there. Now, it had two bumps in it.

’Must be her horns.’

Viora’s eyes were closed and her forehead was wrinkled. Moreover, her face was covered in sweat, which was slowly dripping onto the pillow.

Is she unconscious, or has she just closed her eyes? I don’t know, but I think Phase 0 has been achieved without much trouble.

I took the mana stone from her hands and threw it into the dustbin. Now that it had turned gray, it had no use.

Then, with the white sleeve of my shirt, I wiped the sweat off her face and took off the towel from her head.

When I did that, I was shocked by what had grown on her head.

The two horns, which were tiny before, had grown bigger.

They were just above her forehead and curved backward. Their color had also changed from black to red.

"Wow."

I thought they would look terrifying, but to me, they looked mesmerizing.

"Urg..." Viora’s head turned slightly and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Viora?" As soon as I saw her opening her eyes, I grabbed her hand with both of mine.

"Are you okay?"

"My... My head feels strange."

She... she said all those words without stopping. Seems, her speech have completely returned to normal.

"Huh? My voice?" Her eyes widened and her hand covered her mouth. "What is this? I can speak easily now?"

"Yeah, your speech has recovered." I said and gripped her hand more tightly. Unlike a few days ago, she was feeling really warm now.

Overjoyed by her recovery, she closed her hands around mine while I was clutching hers.

"Woo Jin, I can speak."

Again, she repeated it to me. She was just too happy about it to contain her joy.

"Yeah, but... can you see?"

Curiosity was killing me, so I had no choice but to ask. However, I immediately regretted it. Because what I asked made her calm down, and she let go of my hand.

"No. I still can’t."

Understandable. If it fixed everything, that wouldn’t sound right.

"It’s okay. You will be able to see soon." I reassured her. "Now, you should try getting up and see if you can walk."

I told her and let go of her hand. She nodded once and, using her arms, began to rise from the bed.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. You can do it."

I was giving live commentary. Yet she wasn’t able to get up all the way and fell back onto the bed.

"It’s alright. You can try again later."

"No. I want to get up right now." Once again, Viora began to rise. This time, I leaned in and tried to help her.

Soon, with so much effort, she was able to sit up on the bed.

It was her who did all the work. I had only placed my hand at her back to give her reassurance.

"Here," I said, and once again wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with my sleeve.

All she did was sit up, and yet she was panting like she had ran through the entire hospital.

’It will take time. But I think she will be able to walk soon.’

"Woo Jin. I want to walk."

Huh?

"You want to walk right now?"

My plan was simple. Let her rest for a bit and then try walking, but she wanted to do it right away.

That is some really strong motivation.

"Okay, if you want to."

I grabbed her feet and was about to place them on the side of the bed, but she stopped me.

"It’s okay. I want to walk by myself."

She wants to walk by herself? But she is blind. How is she supposed to know if the way is clear or not?

I didn’t want to agree with her, but I think I should. Since this is her first walk after such a long time.

"Okay."

Giving her a slight nod, I stepped back and watched her weakly move her legs to the side of the bed.

Her feet touched the cold ground and a shiver ran through her body.

"Cold."

Then, with one hand on the bed, she pushed herself up.

For a moment, I could see her legs shaking under her own weight, but it didn’t stop her.

She ignored it and stood up anyway.

’She have insane willpower.’

"Woo Jin... I am standing. Am I?"

She still couldn’t fully believe that she was actually standing on her own two feet.

"You are."

I confirmed, and in response she giggled slightly and got a bit too confident. She tried to lift her foot to walk, but her balance shifted and she began to wobble.

However, I didn’t let her fall.

I reacted as fast as I could and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Don’t worry. I am here."

Saying that, I helped her sit back on the bed, and I, too, sat in front of her on the stool.

"Thank..." Viora placed her arms on her thighs and lowered her face. "...You."

Just from looking at her, I could tell she was embarrassed and wanted to hide it from me. Little did she know, trying to hide her embarrassment only made her look cuter.

Suddenly, she gripped my sleeve and said, "Again."

"Again what?"

"Walking. I want to walk again."

At her words, I let out a sigh and decided to help her with it.

"Alright. If you want to walk, then you have to grab my arm so that you don’t fall."

Viora grabbed my arm and stood up again.

"Left foot."

I said, and she immediately took a step with her left foot. After that, I told her to move her right foot forward, and she did.

I know all of these are simple things, but I could feel that it meant far more than that to her.

"At this rate, maybe we really can get ice cream by evening."

It was just a simple joke, but I didn’t know it would turn into something so big when she will say it after me.

"Ice cream?" Viora repeated softly after me and a screen appeared in front of me.

Ding!

[A Quest has been created!]

[Eat ’Ice Cream’ with your wife.]

[Time Limit: 4 hours 59 minutes]

[Reward: ???]