Chapter Nineteen
The Exchange
“Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?” The doctor’s words pulled Aelius’ attention from the sleeping Aria.
“Business? About?”
The doctor waved her hand and a series of glowing graphs manifested in the air. “You’ve been knocked out and on the brink of death for the last four days.”
For a moment, Aelius’ gaze rested on the ground, as if he were deeply contemplating the message. But then, he simply shrugged his shoulders with nonchalance, looking back up to Professor Garner. “I’ve suffered worse.”
“Right. Sure you have. Anyways, they called you talentless in Magic, but you cast a Fifth Star spell, and that’s what got you in this predicament. I’ve analysed your body… nothing shows up.”
Well, no surprise there, Aelius rolled his eyes.
“But my intuition is telling me that there’s something in your Core, or in your bloodstream, that reacts to Mana. And its behaviour is kind of like uhh… a dormant poison that is stimulated by Mana.”
Aelius, impressed, gave her a fair nod. Wow, not bad. A doctor using her intuition, huh.
“I think if you could fix it, you could use Magic freely–” Aelius silenced the doctor with a hand held up.
“I already know all of this.”
“O-oh…” the doctor’s face turned red. “Huh. Surprising.”
“I told you, I’ve had worse.” Aelius looked up at the ceiling, his mind whirring. How do I track down Violet? When I met her in the Ice Ranges, she had been there for less than a year. Right now, there’s still four years until she goes to the Ice Ranges. I want to see her straight away. I want to meet her right now.
“Hmm…” Violet has a Clan. A unique one. “Do you know of a Clan with Eastern origins that excel in herbal medicine, with purple hair?”
“Hmm?” The doctor crossed her arms in deep thought. “That sounds familiar. Oh, could it be? A year ago, did you hear about the Holy Emperor?”
Aelius frowned in deep thought for a moment. The Holy Empire was the first to collapse in the future, and by that time, the Emperor was mostly out of the picture.
“Well, his Holiness fell irreparably ill. It was at that time that the Royal Family poured all of their resources into searching for a doctor who could save the Emperor. This is very secretive among the circle of doctors but, rumours say they found a prestigious, secretive clan. In particular, that clan had a daughter who was a medicinal genius.”
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Aelius’ eyes lit up. “At the Holy Empire?” he asked.
“That’s right. Currently, the Holy Emperor is still behind closed doors– no one knows whether he’s to make a recovery or not.”
Aelius pursed his lips. “The Holy… Capital… I need to go. I need to see for myself.”
“Eh? You’re a student, kiddo. Holidays aren’t for a while yet.”
Aelius glanced out the window. It’s okay. I’ll drop out of the Academy. Finding Violet is the most important.
They were interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. “Come in?” Professor Garner called.
“Pardon my intrusion,” an old voice remarked with a warm smile as the door slid open. “I’ve come to see dear boy Aelius, after I felt he was awake,” Polia explained as she stepped in. “But I happened to hear discussion of the Holy Empire– the Capital, to be exact.”
“Ah, yes. It seems Aelius wants to go,” Professor Garner wryly chuckled.
“Why do you wish to go to the Holy Capital, young Aelius?” Polia asked.
Ah, things have gotten annoying, Aelius thought to himself. Let’s handle this delicately. Don’t want Polia blowing my brains out with an Eighth Star spell. “Personal reasons.”
“I see. Perhaps, I as Headmaster, can be of some assistance to you for once.” Polia took off her hat as she, with frailty, took a seat at a chair.
Aelius turned to face her in surprise. Ordinarily, she was so dignified. Now, it just looked like a regretful and worn old woman.
“Students, ordinarily speaking, cannot abandon their studies to go travelling. But in the case of the Holy Capital, there is an exception. Every two years, every Magic Academy will send their best students to the Holy Capital, where Saint Nia’s is located, for a friendly ‘tournament’. We call it the Continental Exchange.” Polia turned to give Aelius a warm gaze. “Our selection process begins next week. And then within the month, the chosen students will be escorted to the Holy Capital. The Exchange lasts two weeks.” Polia summoned out of thin air a piece of paper, and then telepathically blew it to Aelius’ hands. “If you’re up for the challenge, fill out that form and turn it in to the head desk. But be aware, we only send the best. You’ll have to compete with the Third Years if you hope to have a chance.”
Hah, Aelius scoffed as he inspected the form. A competition where I bully some babies. Ridiculous.
“I wish you the best of luck, young Aelius.” Then with a flash, Polia disappeared, leaving the doctor and Aelius alone in the room.
“Will you be alright?” Professor Garner asked, eyeing the form in Aelius’ hand. “Just facing a Fifth Star spell put you on the brink of death for four days. In that competition, most of the competitors will be Fifth Star.”
Aelius narrowed his eyes. “I have my ways. Oh, speaking of, what happened to that little shit– I mean, Dylan?”
“Oh, yes. The Headmaster wanted him expelled but faced strong opposition from the majority of the Board, so they settled on suspending him for two weeks.”
“Ugh, so the guy gets a two week holiday, good for him,” Aelius rolled his eyes, laying back down.
Either I drop out and I disappear, or I go ahead with the Headmaster’s proposal. If I drop out without telling anyone, my parents are gonna be worried sick when they find out.
Aelius clenched his fists.
I did that in my past life, and then they died before I got to see them again. I sacrificed so much of my life in exchange for hunting down Skals, and in the end I couldn’t even achieve the ending I wished for. I want to be greedy in this life. There has to be a better way. With my knowledge of the future, I’m sure I can stay one step ahead of them. This time, I’ll live differently.
