Chapter 208 : Grace as Steep as a Mountain
Chapter 208: Grace as Steep as a Mountain
Jarvis Roland had a dream.
In the dream, he was still nineteen years old.
He was a common-born apprentice from the Lower City. Originally of no particular note, his life changed overnight when he was identified as possessing A-level Wizard Talent, instantly becoming the most outstanding apprentice of his cohort at Floating Island Forest Academy.
He was brilliant, always grasping any wizardry knowledge at a glance. His advancement was rapid—at just nineteen, he had already reached the peak of a Third Tier Wizard Apprentice.
He lacked neither fame nor resources. Among his peers, he was the most dazzling, and many Wizard Families had extended olive branches to him without hesitation.
Everything had gone too smoothly. Even he believed that becoming a full-fledged wizard was merely a matter of time.
But then, the accident happened—
There was no conspiracy, no betrayal.
During a routine mission, he sustained serious injuries and failed to receive timely treatment, which led to severe contamination of his body.
In the end, in order to preserve his life, and on the advice of his mentor, he had no choice but to sacrifice his left leg, sealing the contamination into the leg bone, and undergoing amputation followed by prosthetic transplantation.
It was during this seemingly routine surgery that they discovered the contamination was not merely Darksun Contamination, but a curse cast upon him by a Darksun Apostle.
He had no idea why someone like him—a mere Third Tier Wizard Apprentice—would be targeted by a Darksun Apostle’s curse. But miraculously, Jarvis Roland survived under the curse.
Yet misfortune followed closely. In order to seal the curse, his left leg would never recover, and both his talent and wizard level suffered irreversible damage—
Pleading, despair, and collapse.
Jarvis Roland experienced every stage of psychological breakdown.
He admitted that his mentor had once held high hopes for him. But according to the principle of equivalent exchange among wizards, no one would willingly take out a huge loan to buy top-tier Purification Potions for him.
His background as a common-born apprentice was insufficient for any of the Wizard Families who had once admired him to expend immense effort and resources to find a Purification Wizard to remove the curse.
At that moment, Jarvis Roland realized that from beginning to end, he was just an ordinary person who had been lucky enough to possess an A-level Wizard Talent.
His glory came from his talent. His decline also stemmed from that same talent.
When all things returned to zero, merely surviving was already the kindest conclusion Jarvis Roland could hope for in such circumstances—
“Accio—”
A gentle female voice echoed in his ear. Like a breeze dispelling fog, Jarvis Roland, long trapped in a nightmare swamp, gradually awoke.
“Where am I...”
“Mr. Roland, the treatment is complete.”
A tidal wave of dizziness gradually faded from Jarvis Roland’s mind. His gaze cleared. Seeing the familiar figure in front of him, in an instant, as if he suddenly realized something, Jarvis Roland sat up straight from the sofa.
“The treatment was very successful. You can try walking around, but don’t push yourself too hard—”
His eyes slightly dazed, as he heard the first half of Janna’s sentence, Jarvis Roland suddenly felt a silence fall over everything around him.
As if all sounds vanished in that moment.
All that remained were the loud thuds of his racing heartbeat and the trembling sound of his breathing.
“It really... doesn’t hurt—”
Though the contamination had always been sealed in his left leg bone, the constant ant-bite-like pain had tormented Jarvis Roland for more than twenty years, never relenting.
Even though he always appeared composed and refined in front of others, his need to rely on sedatives to sleep at night had long driven him to the brink of suicidal thoughts—and the scars on his wrist were the best evidence of that.
“Miss Janna, it really doesn’t hurt anymore!”
“Congratulations, Mr. Roland—”
“I really don’t feel any pain anymore!”
Seeing her words interrupted, Janna merely smiled and nodded, stepping quietly aside to give him space.
At that moment, despite being in his forties, Jarvis Roland’s eyes reddened.
Though not to the point of tears, the words he kept repeating over and over were enough for Janna to feel the depth of his emotions.
“Thud—”
His left leg, unused to walking for so long, caused Jarvis Roland to stumble on his first attempt to walk unaided.
Yet Janna didn’t rush to help. She remained silently in the corner, allowing him to get up on his own—
And fall again—until he could walk steadily.
“I’m sorry, Miss Janna, for showing you such an undignified side of me.”
Though his steps still wavered, because Jarvis Roland’s new left leg belonged to a powerful extraordinary creature with potent bloodline strength, it only took a little training before he no longer needed the cane.
“It’s only human, Mr. Roland. No need to be concerned.”
Seeing that he had calmed down, Janna stepped out from the shadows and sat across from Jarvis Roland.
“No matter how much I say, it won’t even begin to express one-thousandth of my gratitude to you—so, as promised, no matter what request you make, I will agree.”
After this incident, Jarvis Roland not only felt immense gratitude toward Janna but also held deep respect for her abilities.
With his discerning eye, it was clear to him that Janna was not only an excellent opera performer but also a peerless genius with exceptional talent.
A gem like her was destined to shine.
As a keen businessman, Jarvis Roland naturally understood the value of early investment.
“Mr. Roland, there’s no need to humble yourself. I helped you because you helped me first.”
“We are equals.”
Hearing her words, now spoken with formal honorifics, Janna, though younger and technically a business associate, did not take advantage of the moment to assert dominance.
After all, both were foxes who had clawed their way up from the bottom. Even if the other spoke with heartfelt sincerity, Janna would never demand anything outrageous.
A great favor, if handled poorly, could become as burdensome as a great enmity, leaving a shadow in both hearts.
“According to the wizard’s principle of equivalent exchange, deducting the cost of the two gifts, Mr. Roland only needs to pay me five thousand Gold Surrel.”
“Absolutely not!”
Upon hearing the quoted price, Jarvis Roland interrupted her immediately.
“A mere five thousand Gold Surrel is by no means an equivalent exchange!”