DING!
DING!
DING!
"Is it morning already...?"
I looked at the small glass pane in the door as rays of morning sunlight filtered into the isolated training room, and the light bulb switched off in time with the academy’s morning bells.
The momentary break was enough for my mind to finally realize its exhaustion, my legs trembling the moment my skin felt the small warmth of the sun.
THUD!
I collapsed to the ground on my back, staring at the ceiling in deep thought.
[Light Mastery Increased]
[Apprentice: Lvl 2]
My body itself felt great, as if I could punch through concrete and completely shatter it into pieces, and I bet I could do it too.
The sheer rinse and repeat of healing magic made me stronger than when I started.
The problem was my mind.
No amount of recovery spells could freshen something like that after thousands of stupid solved formulas.
And the only spell that actually did something like that was expert-level light magic, a far cry from what I was able to achieve.
While I could try casting it using profaned instead, I think I’d already learned my lesson from using shortcuts.
The pain just helps motivate me anyway, a familiar feeling from the past that reminds me I’m growing stronger.
"This body needs a higher pain tolerance; I shouldn’t spoil it too much."
I forced myself to stand up despite my exhaustion, opening the door and feeling myself get temporarily blinded by the sheer brightness of the sun.
"Aghh... that stings..."
I rubbed my eyes together, seeing a few more students, most being seniors from a year ahead, leaving their own isolated training rooms to prepare for their classes.
"Master...?"
The familiar voice of Kevin echoed beside me, exhausted, just like mine.
"You were here as well?"
"Definitely better than practicing in the forest or in my room."
yawn
Kevin couldn’t hold himself back; his yawn affected everyone in the vicinity like a disease, making the already tired students even more tired.
"Screw this, I’m cutting classes... see you, master!"
Kevin walked off, waving me off with a lazy smile as he headed to his dorm, likely planning to sleep the entire day to try and make up for lost sleep.
"Right..."
I looked down at my clothes, the fabric filled with blood and sweat from all the healing sessions I practiced.
And while Kevin clearly wasn’t in the perfect state of mind, it was still a miracle that Kevin didn’t notice it.
And of course...
"The hell happened to you!?"
A new important character from the novel had finally decided to interact with me, and it had to be when I was literally covered in my own blood.
Bright Phoenix.
An A-Rank fire mage with the potential to surpass even that of an S-Rank, a major character from the novel’s academy winter trip arc.
"You’re covered in blood!" He shouted in concern, slinging me over his shoulder without even bothering to ask as he sprinted towards the medical district.
Fiery red hair, burning eyes, and a personality as hyperactive as a forest fire.
If there was a mage that could even be considered a jock or a brute, excluding me, it was this man.
*** Medical District - Nurse’s Office
THUD!
He kicked open the door, his head scanning the room for any professional who could help me, but after seeing none, he decided to throw me onto a free bed to let me rest.
"Are you okay!? You shouldn’t overdo your training like that!"
His every word felt like a scream to me. I haven’t met anyone this stupidly active at the start of a school day.
"I’m fine, you lunatic, I already healed myself."
I irritably replied to him, attempting to stand up, but was immediately stopped as he grabbed me by my shoulder and forced me back in bed.
"Nonsense! You may be one of the stronger students in the academy, but you’re still a dark mage!"
He crossed his arms and shook his head in disapproval, treating me like a child who didn’t know his limits instead of a student who far outmatched him.
"Dark recovery won’t be enough to fix the fatigue in your body; you should wait for the nurse to—"
[Minor Healing]
"Does this shut you up?" I smirked, showing off my magic, hoping that would shut him up.
But little did I know, I just accidentally made him far more annoying than before.
"You got a second attunement already!?"
Bright Phoenix leaned in so close I could practically feel the residual heat rolling off his skin. His eyes burned brighter than before, excitement completely overriding whatever concern he’d had a moment ago.
"That glow... light magic, right? No way that was dark magic!"
"Back off," I groaned, pressing a hand to his chest and pushing him away just enough to breathe. "You’re loud... and irritating."
I normally wouldn’t be this annoyed, but with how mentally deprived I was currently, meeting someone like him was my definition of hell on earth...
He blinked once.
Then he grinned.
A wide, stupid, genuinely impressed grin.
"Hah! That explains it!" he laughed. "I knew something was off the moment I picked you up. Your body felt... strong, warm, just like Julius every time I pass by him."
I clicked my tongue.
Great.
A perceptive idiot.
"So you weren’t dying?" he asked.
"I was tired," I corrected. "Big difference."
Bright Phoenix scratched the back of his head.
"Still, training until sunrise like that? You trying to kill yourself?"
"Everyone else’s doing it."
That earned another loud laugh from him. "Yeah, but none of them came out of the training room covered in blood!"
Gods, he was insufferable.
The door finally opened, saving me from further interrogation.
A nurse stepped in, took one look at me, then at Bright Phoenix, and sighed like she’d already aged ten years.
"What did you break this time?" she asked flatly.
"Nothing!" Bright Phoenix said immediately. "He was just, uh... bleeding a lot."
Her gaze snapped back to me.
"...Explain."
"Self-inflicted," I said calmly. "Controlled, and already healed with light magic."
The nurse stared at me for a long second, then pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I don’t get paid enough for this academy," she muttered. "Sit still."
She placed a hand over my forehead, a gentle pulse of diagnostic magic washing through me. A type of magic that descended from both light and ice attunement.
"Mental exhaustion," she said after a moment. "Severe, something you’d naturally expect from someone who kept harming and healing themselves."
She shot Bright Phoenix a look. "And please stop hovering, the least you could do is give him space if you’re truly worried."
"But—"
"No buts."
"Oh."
That seemed to disappoint him slightly.
The nurse turned back to me. "You’re banned from intensive training for the rest of the day, and change your clothes, it smells."
"Should staff really talk that way to students?"
Her eye twitched.
"I’m kidding," I added. Her no-nonsense attitude was far better than whatever Bright had. "I get where you’re coming from."
She studied me, then sighed again. "Good, I’ll report your status to the faculty to excuse you for the day."
Bright Phoenix crossed his arms, watching me with renewed interest after the nurse left the room.
"So... second attunement, huh. That’s rare."
"Not unheard of."
"Sure, but light? despite being a dark mage?" He whistled. "Talk about special."
I glanced toward the window, sunlight pouring in, warm and calming compared to the person in front of me.
"You’re overreacting..."
He grinned wider. "Man, I’m glad I ran into you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because the semi-monthly exam’s coming up," he said eagerly. "And I’ve been itching to see how the academy’s rumoured lunatic really fights."
Also... did he just say lunatic? Guess that’s one more to the list of my ever-growing nicknames in this academy.