Lowly Ascent

Cain woke up refreshed, getting up to look outside his window. The sky was clear, opening the window, cool air made itself known, colliding against his skin.

With the cool air expelling his lethargy, Cain got up for the day. He soon headed for the door where Luna was standing on the other end.

"I thought we could walk to school if that's okay," She was quick to explain her presence.

"That would be great!" Cain had no complaints. 

When they reached the campus, the pair headed to the main building for their first class, which was about wildlife.

Inside the classroom, Cain found it was spacious with rows of seats and a desk with a chalkboard up front for the teacher. The two found their seats. While they settled in, Cain overheard other students discussing something.

"Have you heard about James and his crew?"

"Yeah, someone said they were beaten, it was brutal. No one knows who did it either, the guys wouldn't say."

"I heard they tried to go after one of the Royal students."

"You mean someone from one of the plague doctor families? No way, they're not that stupid; it has to be someone else!"

Cain was eavesdropping on the conversations around him. He was relieved that his involvement had not been discovered.

Leaning back in his chair, he got even more comfortable, waiting for class to begin.

A door busted open, and a short, elderly man entered and walked to the teacher's desk. He had white hair and a hunched back. His beard was so long he could use it as a scarf. He looked as if he would keel over and die at any moment.

Setting down his books, the old man's groggy voice passed into everyone's ears.

"Turn to page 232, we'll be discussing the creature on that page today and go on from there if we have time."

He began drawing on the board. In a few moments, the teacher drew a detailed picture of a humanoid creature with rotting flesh, it was quite repulsive.

"This is what happens when someone is infected with the Zimo disease, which causes the body to rot and deform while gaining vitality and strength,"

The teacher then wrote explanations around the drawing.

"Those infected turn into mindless monsters that hunt humans to infect more and spread the pathogen. Most people call these monsters 'zombies' and it's known that the Zimo bacterium can infect humans, making it our nemesis."

The professor took a sip of water and continued, "The disease has been suppressed for the past 500 years, but recent findings suggest that the pathogen has been infecting more hosts. That's why I'm teaching you about these creatures today, and another class will cover the bacterium itself."

Cain took diligent notes, reflecting on the attack during his journey to the city. He had dismissed the creatures seeing as they were easy to deal with but he also understood the gravity of their high infectivity, even more so in large groups.

"Since these monsters are created from human bodies that have weakened and rotted, they are easy to disable and slow, just focus their limbs. Blunt objects work well against their soft defenses."

The professor pointed to the festering legs of the drawn creature "However, this won't save you when facing groups of them. They have another weakness - their rotting flesh makes them flammable, and their cranium is also an easy target, attacking it will take them down. The rotting process is more severe in the brain, causing the head to soften the most and the brain to turn into mush with a little force."

Cain wrote down everything the professor said, ensuring he didn't miss any important information. He couldn't help but notice that some students didn't bother to write anything down, which irked him.

He had a personal belief that people who didn't thirst for knowledge or apply themselves, with so many resources at their disposal, were the worst human beings there were. Again this was a belief born from his status as a contaminant.

Since he wrote fast, Cain also assisted Luna, who found it hard to take notes.

Luna's handwriting flowed gracefully across the page, each letter formed with precision.

"You have remarkable penmanship."

Luna's cheeks flushed at the praise. Since her enrollment, she found solace in small rituals like handwriting, trying to retain stability in her difficult life.

A few students noticed this interaction and smirked, but Cain and Luna were too focused on their note-taking.

After the teacher's seminar ended, Cain and Luna packed up and prepared to go to lunch. It was almost midday and they had another class afterward.

On the way out, Cain headed to the bathroom, and Luna waited.

During this time, a group of people approached Luna and pushed her against a wall.

"Well, if it isn't the school's outcast. Now that you've got yourself a boyfriend, you think you can go around acting happy?!"

"H-He's not my boyfriend! He's my friend!"

"Don't you think it's about time you moved on from here? This school is for the elite, not someone lower class wastrel like you!"

Another student chimed in, "I wish you were a contaminant. Then we could do whatever we wanted, but that doesn't matter, since we can anyway. Haha!"

"What's going on?" Cain's voice interrupted them.

The group members turned and saw Cain drying his hands with a cloth. Cain saw Luna's distress and grew angry. He felt weakness in himself looking at her, he didn't know where this feeling came from but it was ingrained in his heart, and it fueled his anger more.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, isn't it the outcast's friend? We're just telling her about where her place is at this school"

Cain walked forward, standing before the student who thought of himself as a hotshot, and after making eye contact, punched him square in the stomach.

The student reeled back and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"Come on; let's go get lunch," Cain told Luna.

Luna was dazed but got up. Seeing what Cain did the others backed off, allowing Cain and Luna to go to lunch. The student on the floor was still gasping for air, his face red. Maybe it was anger or more so a lack of air.

After lunch, Luna and Cain went to the library for a bit before their next class. Cain decided to read books on the Zimo bacterium to reinforce his understanding and made significant progress in his proficiency. It helped that he had samples at home he was studying from time to time.

Finishing up reading, they headed to their next class which was on basic combat techniques.

These classes were open to 2nd and 3rd-year students, It was important to learn self-defense because most plague doctors couldn't defend themselves with their pathogens until they reached Grade 2.

The class took place in the main building's combat rooms, they were set up to classrooms but with big mats for combat.

The pungent odor of sweat greeted Cain and Luna as they entered the combat room. Muted moonlight filtered through small windows. An open mat covered the hardwood floor.

Today's class was about disabling opponents, a skill Cain believed he was proficient in.

With everyone present, the teacher began the lesson.

"Today, I'm going to teach you how to disable an opponent, It can be used to capture a target or even get information out of them. It's a technique that targets the joints to render the opponent unable to fight back. If you disable an arm or leg, the opponent will be at a significant disadvantage, making it easier to capture or kill."

The teacher then chose a student to give an example.

The teacher called on Aaron to assist in a defense demonstration. Though reluctant, Aaron made his way to the front mat. As the teacher executed a series of defensive blocks and grabs, Aaron struggled to counter them. With a final swift motion, the teacher seized Aaron's wrist and bent it back. Aaron grimaced in discomfort but did not cry out.

The teacher instructed the rest of the students to come forward and practice. Cain and Luna partnered for the exercise, engaging in controlled combat to practice the techniques.

This continued for a while to develop muscle memory. Cain won their bouts, which frustrated Luna. However, Cain offered her tips and guidance.

After some more practice, the class ended, and the final bell rang. Luna and Cain headed home.

Returning home, John was having dinner, and Cain joined him.

They discussed school and Cain's research. John had Cain tell everything about his day-to-day life, it got to the point Cain was remembering even little details to tell John.

After hearing all about his day, John nodded and took Cain to his lab.

"Why are we here?"

"To hopefully improve you, my apprentice"

John presented Cain with a gift—a vial containing an unknown.

"As far as I know this is an exotic disease. It affects the brain. I am giving this to you to study, your goal is to find a way to integrate it into your body"

As Cain turned the vial over in his hands, his mind raced about the mysterious disease within. Eagerness bubbled up inside him.

Heading back to his room, he started studying the mysterious disease. Since there was no information available, Cain knew it would take a long time to understand it. He planned to experiment on animals and humans to learn its effects and how to harness it for his purposes, even modifying it.

After using his microscope, he noted that the bacteria appeared as circular clumps with deep grooves. While this didn't reveal the disease's function, visualizing its structure would assist in controlling it.

Cain halted his research and summoned a servant to acquire some small animals like rats and birds for experimentation.

With confirmation that they would be obtained the following day, Cain felt satisfied and continued studying for a while before taking a warm bath and going to bed.

Cain sank into the embrace of his down mattress, its plush surface conforming to his body like a mold. Clean linen enveloped him in crisp softness. As his head nestled into the pillow, the lavender scent had a calming effect, slowing his racing mind. His eyes closed and his body relaxed as he drifted into sleep's peaceful harbor after the day's turbulent seas.