"If you say so, but just in case you die, sign these documents. You can't bring me into this world to die in poverty," Judy replied as she brought up a bunch of documents.
"Why do I have a feeling you are praying I die?" Steve asked as he signed the documents.
He had no reason not to since it was a reasonable fear. Judy may have acclimated to human society, but that was only the rich side of society.
She would break down if she ever experienced poverty, and thankfully, she understood that greatly.
"That's just your imagination, sir."
"Okay, just go on with the procedure," Steve said as he laid down on the surgical table that was in the room with them.
"As you wish," Judy replied as Steve slowly felt a wave of drowsiness come over him.
It wasn't long before he fell unconscious, and Judy began the procedure. Carefully, she opened up his chest.
This was a procedure that no one in the medical world would ever agree to do, but at the moment, it was one that Steve needed.
It was one he had worked on for weeks now. It was the only way he saw himself getting stronger at the moment without raiding dungeon after dungeon.
Judy opened his chest as the procedure began, and just a few hours in, she could be seen holding something that looked awfully like a heart.
It beat just as one would, but for some reason, the air around it was distorted. It wasn't pink as one would expect an internal organ to look; rather, it shone white almost as though it was ceramic.
Without much hesitation, she immediately placed the heart into the open chest as she began the procedure to connect it to the rest of the body.
The new heart was placed just on the other side of the original and was even connected to it. The procedure took hours to complete, even with the various mechanical hands and Judy's Monarch nature.
Nearly 20 hours after the procedure started, Steve was finally woken up. His chest had been closed with minimal scarring; in fact, one could argue that there wasn't any scarring at all.
"Thank you," Steve said almost as soon as he woke up.
He didn't act like someone who had been under anaesthesia for such a long time, nor did he act like someone who had just undergone such a massive operation.
"You're welcome, though I still want my name to remain on your will," Judy replied.
"Naturally," Steve said as he kissed her forehead.
Without paying her glowing red cheeks much attention, Steve immediately sat on the floor. This world may not follow such rules, but the breathing techniques used by the Chinese and other Asian countries do work if used correctly.
At that moment, Steve sat down and immediately began to circulate his mana.
As a result of the surgery and the extended period in which he was asleep, his mana was in chaos. He did this solely to assume some level of control over his mana.
About thirty minutes later, he was done and finally ready for the true point of this entire procedure: the Soul Heart.