Sharp

We had fought two iron rankers and a familiar. I don’t know how many skills they had opened, but I suspect not many. Either that or they were not practised in using them. That happens without proper training an those who level with monster cores rather than monster fighting. This was a life-and-death fight, not playing around in a mirage. I only scraped to victory, such as it is.

If I had some traps made and a way to access them, I could have dropped them behind me to slow them down. Maybe I could have got away, and the Kais would be alive. I know they will return, but head and heart knowledge are not the same.

If I had made my Armour, I would not be in such bad shape. A sprint skill could have meant I didn’t get caught.

What if, what if.

I need to prioritise.

I let my familiars feast on the bodies. It would help them heal and multiply. I could still do with more rest anyway.

I pulled out the snake meat. I looked at it. I think I will wait until I get back to the accommodation and cook it. I need a portable cooker. You can get enchanted ones, so you don’t need to light a fire and leave a smoke trail. They run on spirit coins. Everything needs coins. I should probably have converted the magic to coins. As my Reaping Magic levels, I should get more magic I can convert.

Once I was rested and the Kais were bloated, I absorbed them both, as well as Ardisia and started to limp toward the school. Once I got to the main road, I met a couple of patrolling guards. My condition got their attention, and I described what happened and directed them back to the bodies.

We ended up at the nearest guard house, and they had a healer look at me. He was only an emergency healer, so he gave me some cream for the burns and the swelling and pronounced me healthy enough. I was taken to a washroom and washed the blood and guts off me.

I identified myself as a student of Remore Academy, and they sent a runner there. It was three in the morning, so I assumed somebody was going to be woken up. An official statement was taken, and I was left to sit for a while. I think I might have dozed.

Then the door opened, and Arabelle Remore marched in. She was a healer, and she cast a spell before she sat down.

“I am glad you are alive,” She said.

I nodded.

“The spell is a heal over time. In about twelve hours, the swelling and bruising will be gone. The fur and tooth are different; the fur will grow back naturally, and you might need more to replace the tooth. You will need to eat more in the next couple of days or have a spirit coin.” She looked at me in silence for a bit. “You did very well,” she said when I didn’t speak. “How do you feel?”

“Tired.”

She nodded. “I have a carriage here to take us back. You will be excused from your classes tomorrow, even though they are the first ones. That is an order from your healer. We will talk more tomorrow afternoon. Come and see me when you are up. Come on, let's get you back.”

I got up and followed her out. We rode back in silence, and she escorted me to the first year's accommodation block. Then, we came to our cluster. She opened the door to the plush and opulent common area. I went to my room and opened the door. The bare floor, bare mattress, and walls were a stark contrast to the common area.

“What is this?” she asked.

“My room,” I replied.

I walked in and opened my arch.

She pursed her lips, “We will talk about this tomorrow as well,” she said.

I nodded.

“Sleep as much as you can. You should be fine when you wake, apart from your tooth and fur.”

“Yes, Ma’am, thank you, ma’am.”

She closed the door and left, and I entered my arch and curled up with the two Kais on my travel blankets. Ardisia was resting nearby, and this space helped them heal.

I was soon asleep.

I didn’t know what time it was when I woke as this was a dimensional space. I went out, and the sun was well past noon. I stretched, and I did feel fine. My fur was patchy and my tongue went to the gap in my teeth.

I went to the washroom and cleaned up again, then I went to the kitchen and cooked the snake meat with a few herbs. I was sure my Hunters Feast would grow my tooth and fur back, plus I needed to level the skill.

Snake meat tastes alright, but I might need to use different herbs. I stored the spare meat and then finished off with some berries.

It was time to go and see Healer Remore. There were only a few students out and about as I walked across campus. I guess they were all in classes.

I knocked on her door, “Come in,” was the reply.

“Theo, good. Please have a seat. Have you eaten?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Good. To start, I would like you to run me through the events of last night, starting with why you were walking alone through the western quarter at 2 a.m.”

“Yes, Ma’am. After our session here, I needed a distraction, so I went to the Temple of the Outcast and helped in their kitchen until about 1 am.”

“Really? How often have you done that?”

“Only a few times. I have only been in the city about two weeks.”

“You didn’t need to walk. There are carriages for hire.”

“Yes, ma’am, I had spent all my coin already.”

“I see, go on.”

I went through the fight from my perspective, skipping from the deaths to when I met the guards.

“You were smart, except for the fact you were there in the first place.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How do you feel at the loss of your familiars.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel. Sad? Angry? Numb? I don’t know.”

“I see. We will talk about that more when you have had time to process it. I looked them up, and they will regenerate.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“What about your other familiar?”

“She is healing, Ma’am.”

“How do you feel about killing those two men?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. They attacked me, and they kept coming. I let my familiars feed on the bodies.”

“Yes, I know. I asked to see the bodies. Why?”

I shrugged, “It would help my familiars heal, and they caused the damage.”

She waited to see if I would add anything. When I didn’t, she said, “Why is your room empty?”

“I have nothing to put in it, and I prefer to sleep in my Garden.”

“Yes, and we are going to talk about your Garden in future sessions, as well. It is very important to you.”

“Yes, Ma’am”

“Do you know what your room says to me?”

“No, Ma’am.”

“It says that you are only here temporarily. That you are holding everybody at a distance and that you don’t trust your roommates.”

“I see,” I said non-committedly.

“I met with your roommates and asked them. Do you know what they said?”

“Probably.”

“Hmm. Josh is relocating to another academy. He has already left.”

“I see. Do you know whether he is the vindictive type? Or whether his family will get back at me for getting him kicked out?”

“I made it very clear that his own actions showed he was unsuitable for this academy, and I said the same to his parents very forcefully. Josh seemed to be very sorry, and it seemed genuine. It is very hard to fool me when I push, and I pushed.”

“I see. Thank you, Ma’am.”

“Valery Kristos reported Josh’s infraction to the academy, but it had not been actioned yet.”

I nodded in silence.

She returned to the original subject, “Why do you have nothing to put in your room?”

“I had more important things to spend my coin on, and there didn’t seem to be a point.”

“I see. What have you spent your coin on?”

“Awakening stones and a skill book, Ma’am. I am a long way behind, and I need to catch up.”

“When you enrolled, you had eight open skill slots. How many do you have now?”

“Five, Ma’am.”

“That is a lot to have done in a week. Are you pleased with the three skills?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“What was the skill book?”

“Introduction to Solid Armour Crafting.”

“Are you planning to craft your own armour?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“That is ambitious. I would like to see that when you are done.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“I want you to spend some coin on things for your room.”

“I feel I have higher priorities for my coin, Ma’am.”

“I don’t. I want you to spend some coin on your room, and I want you to sleep in it at least three times a week.”

Silence.

“I am aware you have some coin. I saw the bodies, remember? I noticed the missing items.”

Silence.

“What you are not aware of is that there was a bounty on the two who attacked you. I collected it for you.” She put a bag of coins in front of me. “Do we have a deal, Theo?”

I nodded reluctantly. It was a pretty one-sided deal, but I was the one who needed help.

“Good. We will talk more about the incident at our session next week. If I might make a suggestion, your roommates would probably be willing to help you find things for your room.”

“Yes, ma'am”

“You are aware that I know that when you say, “Yes, Ma’am,” that you don’t mean it. You are only saying it because you think it is what I want to hear.”

A smile quirked at the corner of my mouth, “Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled. “Get out of here. You’ve got classes tomorrow and some armour to build.”

I smiled, “Yes, ma’am”