After dealing with Lan and his subordinates, Enrico walked toward the dormitory.
'Since the constellations approved the pact, I had to prepare a bit. I already spoke with Kai to watch over Lan so he doesn't cause trouble, since I don't know if I'll be unconscious for a while or not...'
[Are you sure about this? It's all luck, and from what I see, your luck is crap.]
'What can I do? Wait for everyone to surpass me? I need to increase this body's potential quickly.'
Enrico walked a bit slower upon seeing someone looking at him, a girl who looked a little like him. The biggest difference was that she had black hair and silver eyes. It took him a second, but then he immediately knew who it was.
'That's the second in line of the Solcren family, Enrico's sister, two years older, Platina Solcren Ferreira.'
The girl turned and walked away. She must have come to see him by order of their father after hearing about Enrico's victory over Lan.
[She seems to have above-average potential.]
'Yes, she'll graduate this year when she turns 18, and she'll be one of the only third-years to reach Circle Five.'
[She seems like she'll be problematic.]
'Well, she's the one who'll inherit their mother's nickname with the metal magic and will also have a second magic.'
The system was surprised and seemed to ponder.
[So she doesn't focus only on her main magic? Doesn't that slow down her development?]
'It's not surprising. Some first-year students from Class S have two magics. You could say that when a mage hits a wall, they start wanting to learn another type of magic to improve. Of course, there are unique magics for each family, like Serenya's.'
Enrico walked faster and arrived at the dormitory where no one was around. He thought it best to appear during rest time when the students would be eating in the cafeteria. He entered the hallway and checked to make sure there were no maids.
"The next one won't show up for another 20 minutes. Hopefully the result won't be too bad."
He entered the empty dormitory, bathed only by sunlight filtering through the window. Enrico sat in the center of the room, legs crossed and hands resting on his knees. His eyes were fixed on the floor as if seeking courage. He took a deep breath.
"...Let's get this over with. And I hope I'm lucky. Besides, it can't be worse than the mana zone... who am I kidding? Yes, it can..."
It was the moment of the pact—his way to surpass his limits, a single step higher.
A roulette appeared in front of him, and his face paled.
"It really will be luck-based."
Enrico put his hands together, hoping for luck, but he drew the cruelest fate.
[Since your birth... damn it.]
As soon as he confirmed the pact mentally, he uttered a simple phrase.
"Shitty luck."
[You obtained the Curse: Fire Cancer]
[Survive.]
"Urgh...?"
The pain came like a hammer blow to the chest. His heart started to burn—not metaphorically, but literally. The pulse became an explosion. His body arched backward, and he fell to his knees, gritting his teeth.
"GAHHHHHH!!!"
The room temperature spiked instantly, steam running down the walls, the furniture creaking under the suffocating heat. Enrico's skin began to crack, tiny fissures like lava flowing inside a human vessel.
Invisible flames surrounded his body, and the dormitory floor began to carbonize, turning black and spreading like a disease. His breath became hot, as if exhaling embers.
His heart burned, and then, on his back, as if branded with red-hot iron, black burn marks appeared, forming symbols that looked ancient—perhaps not even human.
He tried to scream, but his voice was hoarse from the pain. If not for his natural resistance to fire, inherited from his magical compatibility, his body would have turned to ashes right there. That's why the curse only affected fire mages—any other type would die within the first minute.
"D-Damn..."
He whispered, almost unconscious, with tears evaporating before they touched his face.
And then, a wave of mana was released—a brutal pulse, like a silent explosion. The floor trembled, the heat suddenly dissipated, and Enrico collapsed to the ground, unconscious—and this was only the first month.
The dormitory was in ruins, smoke filled the air, the burned wood left a heavy smell in the atmosphere. That was when the door was violently kicked open.
"ENRICO!"
A female voice shouted. A silhouette appeared through the smoke. Pink hair and eyes, her expression taken by panic. She ran to him, kneeling beside his unconscious body.
Right behind, fast footsteps echoed.
"For heaven's sake... what happened here?" murmured Angela, the dormitory maid. Without hesitation, she knelt down and carefully lifted Enrico in her arms.
"He's... burning alive."
The pink-haired girl said, and Angela looked at the wounded body and murmured, almost reverently:
"Is this the Fire Cancer?"
And as they rushed out, carrying the unconscious and injured boy, a final glowing ember fell from the ceiling, burning what remained inside the dormitory.
The two ran out of the dormitory, and upon arriving at the infirmary, they saw that everything was already prepared and Elaris was waiting with a serious expression.
Angela placed Enrico on the bed, and the healing doctors began analyzing Enrico's condition. Angela looked at Elaris with a neutral expression.
"Lady Elaris, how did you know he was in this state?"
Elaris returned the neutral look to Angela.
"I saw a fire explosion coming from Enrico's window and quickly called the doctors, and I'm probably not the only one—any student outside must have seen it."
Angela turned her head toward where Enrico was and looked at the pink-haired girl.
"Do you know that girl?"
"The only thing I know is that she's been rising quickly in rank for the past two weeks. Today she entered Class C and is already going to challenge someone from Class B."
The two now looked at the girl but then returned their attention to Enrico on the bed.