"Healing" was a special class among Sequences. As an Original Gene, it was an ability that could be found in many people, but it was impossible to extract Genetic Sources from beasts and monsters that could be turned into Healing Sequences.
The natural healing ability of a beast was obtained through its bloodline, after all. As the ability to heal was equally rare in other creatures as it was for humans, taking their genes wasn't a viable solution to the problem.
As such, even if a number of humans in the millions awakened as healers, they'd never be enough to fill the hospitals.
Humanity had its ways, of course. It could be seen through the healing service Gio used on the zephyr. That was a very high-grade technology only accessible in the Upper Strata, but there were several lesser variants that could heal people far better than ancient technologies could.
The diseases that existed in the past were completely eradicated. That would be a much better fact if they weren't replaced by newer and worse diseases, but that was also beside the point.
Healers were always a great asset to humanity. The ability of a healer would always be better and more efficient than ordinary dicine.
That made it even stranger that Gio had a weakness related to them.
He and the Old Lady arrived at the test chamber easily since both of them were familiar with the route. When they arrived, she imdiately moved to a nearby workstation while waving him towards the center of the room.
"Get in the chair. You know what to do. Set up like usual, but it'll be a bit different this ti."
Gio nodded and did as he was told. The chair in question looked like one found at a dentistry. It ca equipped with chanisms that could forcefully contain a person, but even those chanisms were equipped with override functions that the subject could use to escape.
It was up to the Old Lady to tell them how to use the override, but Gio didn't have to think about the opposing situation since he'd taught her long ago how to escape the chair if he needed to.
He climbed into it and sat down comfortably, activating said chanism to hold his ankles and wrists down. A seatbelt-like tal strap secured him so he couldn't injure himself if he happened to jolt.
'Back then, all of this was necessary.'
He still rembered those days. He had ti to indulge in those mories as the Old Lady fiddled with her computer.
When she found him, he was in a terrible state. He was starved and had just escaped from a nomadic tribe that regularly abused him. His wounds were too severe to be healed by the dical techniques below the 2nd Stratum.
However, when she tried to heal him, he scread out in pain. The wounds on his body worsened and he noticeably beca skinnier.
She might've taken him with her out of guilt, or perhaps it was sheerly for research purposes. She wanted to find out why he reacted so negatively.
The answer was simple.
Resistances and Weaknesses could be easily understood through their nas. Just as every human was born with a Gene Sequence, every human was born with one to three Resistances and one to three Weaknesses.
Gio had three of each, but that was only known to him.
The weakness the Old Lady discovered was an extrely specific weakness to "Healing."
In this very test chamber, she tried countless ways to make healing effective on Gio. It was because of these experints that he felt near-traumatic pain. For years, the Old Lady tried her best to make it so he wouldn't suffer from the effects of healing.
After all, whether he wanted to be a Scavenger or a Sequencer, he would need to prioritize healers over hospitals.
Unfortunately, her experints didn't yield any good results. Gio would always end up more injured and she'd be forced to use modern dicine to heal him.
At a certain point, she gave up on that aspect altogether. She realized that she couldn't torture Gio without being able to guarantee him results.
As such, the experints changed and beca less dangerous. She researched the foundation of his Weakness and tried to understand it completely. She was able to make much progress in her research through these studies, and more importantly...
'...even if she wasn't able to find a way to make all healing abilities work on , she was able to improve her own.'
Gio's weakness didn't just cause him pain. It made it so healing would actually damage his body further.
At least within the bounds of her own abilities, the Old Lady was able to erase half of those consequences.
She learned how to use her own Original Gene's energy to combat the weakness, making it possible for her to heal him.
He would still feel excruciating pain when it happened, but he could be healed to a greater extent than any type of dical practice that wouldn't cost him a fortune to employ.
"This ti, it's not really an experint, but it's still technically an experint."
The Old Lady's words broke Gio from his reminiscence.
She stood up from the computer and approached him. He could see the holographic display flashing, but he couldn't quite read the words.
While he was trying to make them out, the Old Lady approached with a syringe in her hands.
"This is a new invention. It isn't mine, but I helped a little with creating the formula, so I was able to get so from the first batch."
She tapped the syringe, indicating at the amber fluid within.
"This serum is made from mutated beast blood. Its original purpose is to strengthen the bodies of new Sequencers to give them a higher starting point. The hope is to create more Starlight Class Sequencers, but I don't know how effective that will be."
Gio nodded along with her explanation.
'I know of it, but I'd never seen it before. That serum is the first iteration of what will later beco essential to humanity.'
Later, when the Aether Core was invented, it was an improved version of such a serum that allowed Sequencers to transform their bodies into the perfect state to house the core.
'It didn't really beco viable until a long ti from now. It wasn't possible for ordinary people or new Sequencers to absorb the properties of the serum without injuring themselves or dying. It was really only used by experienced Sequencers to give themselves a little more strength.'
That also ant it was dangerous for the current Gio to take, but the Old Lady wasn't aware of that. As far as she knew, the serum had already been tested on humans and its effects had been confird.
If she tried this in the past, it would have ended with Gio dead on the chair.
But this version of him...
"Are you ready? This will hurt more than a bit, but once you take it, your body will be much stronger. This isn't only useful for your big dreams. It'll secure your future as well."
...needless to say, he had his thods.
"I'm ready."
He replied resolutely, allowing her to approach and inject the syringe into a vein on his arm.
The mont the fluid entered his body, he felt it.
And imdiately, he understood why nobody dared to use this serum for so long.
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