"Bastard…! I'll kill you…!" Ryu hurled Zeha's body, slamming him into the wall.
"Kuakh! Kukh!" Zeha tried to get back on his feet the moment he hit the ground, freed from the telekinesis spell, but it only lasted a few seconds before Ryu used telekinesis again, smashing Zeha into the wall and the ground over and over.
His two friends were shocked by Ryu's actions, which they felt had gone way too far.
"Ryu! That's enough, stop it! The academy will be furious if they find out!" one of his friends tried to intervene, but failed.
"Move!" Ryu used his magic to fling his friend aside.
Meanwhile, Zeha's condition had become dire. His clothes were stained with blood, and blood also dripped from his mouth several times as his body was slammed into walls and the ground.
Ryu laughed in satisfaction. There was nothing more pleasurable to him than seeing Zeha in this state.
"You pathetic!" he shouted, then kicked Zeha's head, sending the man flying until he hit the wall. But Ryu didn't stop there—he walked over and began stomping on Zeha's body repeatedly, laughing the whole time.
"A lowborn like you should know your place! Showing insolence to a noble is one of the greatest insults!" Ryu kicked Zeha again, then lifted him high into the air with magic. "I'll end your life right here. Mana manipula—"
Ryu's words were cut short when a burst of fire came from the front, hitting his body and knocking him far back. The attack was so fast that he couldn't detect it in time.
Zeha, who was falling from a height, was caught just in time by a woman, Riana Abelard.
"Are you okay?" Riana reached out to help Zeha stand, but Zeha brushed her hand away and left without a word of thanks.
"Damn…! That bastard…" Ryu tried to get up, his fury unmistakable. "Who do you think you are, interfering with me?!" he shouted angrily.
"Ryu Giriand. You've been caught using magic illegally outside the academy," Riana stepped forward, drawing her sword. "And you assaulted a local citizen and nearly killed him."
Ryu froze the moment he recognized who had attacked him. He never expected one of the academy's strongest mages to be here.
"R-R-Riana…" Ryu's eyes went wide. He slowly tried to back away, fear creeping in. "U-uh… Th-that was… just a joke…"
Riana stopped in her tracks, pausing for a moment. But her aura began to shift, growing dark and suffocating. "A joke? So to you, someone's life is nothing more than a joke?"
"Ukh!" Ryu didn't expect her aura alone to send shivers down his spine. His pride stung at the thought of being humiliated by a woman, and anger began to replace his fear.
"That lowborn insulted us nobles! It's only right that he be punished accor—hiiik!" His sentence cut off when Riana suddenly thrust her sword forward, the tip stopping just short of his neck.
"A noble should act with the dignity befitting their title. I actually feel disgusted by you," Riana said coldly.
"What?!" Ryu's jaw tightened. He could not accept such an insult from a woman's lips.
Riana withdrew her sword, turned her back on him, and began to walk away. "Take them to the academy's reflection room."
"Yes, Master!" Four men, presumably knights, appeared instantly. They swiftly knocked Ryu unconscious and carried him off.
Riana then turned, intending to approach the badly injured Zeha. But all she found was an empty alleyway. No trace of him remained.
"What's was that?" Riana frowned, looking slightly annoyed.
-
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-
On the outskirts of Bern City, there was a small clinic—a place where commoners came for treatment. It had been built twenty years ago. Though not famous and catering only to ordinary folk, the doctor who ran it was undeniably skilled.
The current owner was the granddaughter of the clinic's founder.
Her name was Luxia Dreneric.
"Welcome!" she greeted as she turned around. Her long, blonde hair framed her face, and she wore a white coat like any other doctor. But her happy expression vanished the moment she saw the patient who had just entered.
"My goodness! Zeha! What happened to you?!" Luxia immediately set aside her medical tools and rushed to him, helping him onto the patient's bed. Her eyes darted quickly over his battered form.
"Did you get beaten up again?"
Zeha didn't reply, he's too exhausted to speak. He had walked here on foot despite the clinic being far from the city. He'd managed to hitch a ride on a carriage for a short while, but it was headed in a different direction, forcing him to walk most of the way.
His breathing was ragged, his eyes heavy-lidded.
"Luxia… I'm sorry… Can you heal me?" he asked weakly.
"Of course!" Luxia quickly laid him down, then placed her hands over his body.
A green magic circle appeared beneath her palms, accompanied by a soft emerald light that grew brighter. The glow lasted for about two minutes before fading away.
"Your injuries are pretty bad this time, though not as bad as before," Luxia said. She went to her shelf, picked out a bottle, and handed it to him. "Drink it."
Zeha sat up and drank the liquid. His face twisted the moment he swallowed the last drop.
"Your potions are still as awful-tasting as ever," he muttered.
"Even so, they're my most effective ones!" Luxia replied proudly.
Zeha smiled faintly. He actually agreed that Luxia was the only healer of her generation with such high intellect. She could create countless healing potions and other medicines. Even so, Luxia had flatly refused the empire's offer to make her the imperial doctor, choosing instead to continue her family's small-town clinic.
"Are you going to keep working here?" Zeha asked, watching her mix more potions.
"I think so. I feel comfortable here," Luxia answered without looking at him. "I should be the one asking you that question."
"Huh?" Zeha raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"Will you keep working as a regular laborer? What about your dream of becoming a swordsman mage?" Luxia walked over and sat beside him.
She looked him straight in the eye. Aside from Rose, Luxia was the only one who knew about Zeha's condition, they had been classmates at the academy.
"Maybe I'll just be a swordsman. I'll save money and take the knight's exam," Zeha replied quietly.
"And your magic? Are you just going to give up on it?"
"There's nothing more I can do. The illness I have is rare and hard to cure."
Luxia's expression darkened. She clearly didn't like his attitude of giving up so easily. She had spent so much time helping him, trying every possible way to find a cure.
"Don't give up!" Luxia suddenly stood and faced him.
Zeha was startled when she suddenly grabbed both his shoulders. "Lux…ia?"
"I'm not giving up either! If you give up, I'll kill you myself! Just watch. I'll work hard to make a medicine that can cure you! So don't you dare give up!" Luxia shouted, leaving Zeha stunned.
It took a moment for Luxia to realize she'd crossed a line. Especially since Zeha had been sitting there in silence the whole time, his expression unreadable. Embarrassment hit her hard, and her face turned crimson.
"A-a-anyway, just don't give up!" she blurted before spinning around and bolting to her room, leaving Zeha alone.
Zeha still couldn't believe he had just received such a fiery pep talk from Luxia. And he hadn't expected her words to reignite his own resolve.
"Don't give up, huh?" he murmured with a small smile. "I still have a few things I need to do."
He looked down at a small scrap of paper the old woman had given him earlier that afternoon.