Alec hadn\t bothered preparing anything fancy. A place for him to sit, and a place for his interviewee to sit.

“First, I’ll tell you what happened to Millie and what the procedure actually is,”

Alec told her about how Millie had eaten monster meat and how he prevented complete monsterification by protecting her mind from the corruption.

He left out a lot of details, which left the woman with many questions. But when she thought about it, she realized that she didn’t need to understand the finer details. What she needed to know was the fact that the process was an incomplete monsterification.

It wasn’t like Alec magically made them stronger by casting a spell. It was a surgical procedure that changed their bodies at their very core.

“Now, the risks.”

Alec told her about how he hadn’t had time to test the full extent of the engraved spell formation. Maybe it faded over time? Maybe it stopped working? Maybe the monsterification process broke down the spell formation bit by bit.

If any of those or something else happened, the monsterification would complete in a flash, and they would forever be lost to the sanity of the world.

Next was the fact that he could not control the nature of the transformation. If they were unlucky, their body could experience drastic changes that made living like an ordinary human again impossible.

For this, he brought out Old George to show what one such transformation might look like.

The woman’s expression didn’t change much, but she had worn the same face throughout almost the entire journey.

The bottom line was simple. The risk of death or complete monsterification wasn’t low. Even if the procedure was successful, she might end up looking like a disgusting monster for the rest of her life.

“Sir, I appreciate your worry. But for someone like me, who has nothing to live for and who has only suffered due to my appearance, at least in my youth, those risks aren’t very scary.

“I wasn’t the most beautiful girl in the Lounge, not even when I was young. That’s probably why I survived until I got this old. I wasn’t pretty enough to be targeted by the worst guys. But that meant I went to the ones who couldn’t afford the best girls, and they were…not satisfied.

“Eventually, though, I stopped being desirable. I was still in my prime, but maybe all the wear and tear showed. But since I hadn’t made enough to buy my freedom, I was forced to stick around as a servant girl.

“But then, when I was looking at the other girls and servants, it hit me. It didn’t matter what I did or what I looked like. I had no home to go back to. I had no way to make enough money, but what was I supposed to do with money and freedom?

“It’s strange. I should have succumbed to despair and just given up. My life was over. Even if I kept fighting and struggling through each miserable day, what was I expecting? What was I doing it for?

“If I wanted to, I could have easily slit my wrists. I stole a knife once and put it against my skin. There was no hesitation. My fingers didn’t even tremble.

“At that moment, I was curious. Would it hurt or not?

“I pressed the blade against my skin until I bled. To my surprise, it didn’t hurt. Not one bit. I wasn’t scared, and it wouldn’t hurt. I had no reason not to kill myself.

“But I didn’t. And now I know why.”

Wilma got down on one knee, one fist pressed against the floor, and the other arm resting on her knee. She looked up at Alec with tears of suppressed rage and grief, emotions she had bottled up for decades.

For years, she had stopped herself from feeling anything, from letting her feelings take control.

That was how she had survived.

“I was waiting for you. I was waiting for this second chance at life that you would give me. So please, sir, I beg you. I don’t think I can continue walking if you don’t hold me up. I am too tired to breathe. Please help me.”

Alec nodded. He grabbed Wilma’s hand and pulled her to her feet before hugging her. She slumped into his arms, unable to stand on her own.

Alec held her up. He held her while she cried. He held her until her tears ran dry.

“Get some rest, your body needs to be in good condition,” He said as he helped her to a bed in a nearby room.

Wilma nodded and passed out, the fatigue from a long, hard life finally catching up with her the moment she let her guard down.

Wilma slept for sixteen hours straight. She woke up hungry, thirsty, and with her eyes covered in gunk. But for the first time since she was a child, she woke up willingly and not because she had to.

Alec looked like he hadn’t slept since before that, but he was still ready. He gave her some monster meat and then knocked her out again before performing the surgery. It wasn’t the only one he had done so far.

While Wilma slept, he had conducted a heap of interviews and found people who needed salvation and who didn’t seem like bad people. Ned was one of them.

He grew scales on some parts of his body, and his pupils turned into slits. It was an odd mutation that made him look slightly like a snake, but it could have been worse, and Ned didn’t seem to mind, not when he could punch trees in half and lift boulders over his head.

Wilma’s transformation gave her leather-like skin and flattened her figure. Her wrinkles were gone, and she was even more energetic than when she was young. However, it was clear that she wasn’t a human anymore, and certainly not an attractive one.

Wilma was overjoyed. She didn’t want to be pretty. She wanted to be strong. That she was. And after fighting with Ned to figure out her strength, she realized that she was sturdy.

She could ignore the rocks Ned threw at her with ease, and when she tested Millie’s dagger on her skin, it proved completely ineffective.

She wasn’t even sure if she could kill herself if she wanted to. Relief washed over her like warm water.

With this, she would be able to repay Alec for the rest of her life.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep