The blue screen vanished, leaving Eryndor blinking in the sudden scene in the Infirmary. A faint tingling sensation lingered in his chest, he felt some kind of strange thing flowing through him.
He felt… different. Not stronger, not yet, but like a dormant engine had just sputtered to life, waiting for a spark.
He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. The throbbing in his head was gone. He felt… whole. As if the injury from Darius had never happened.
"What in the world…?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair.
Just then, the Infirmary door swung open, and Finn rushed in, his face a mixture of relief and concern. Julianne followed close behind, her usual composure slightly shaken, her hand folded behind her back.
"Eryndor! You're awake!" Finn exclaimed, rushing to his side. "You gave us a scare there! That light… it was insane! What happened?"
Julianne stepped forward, her gaze intense. "what happened over there it was so strong and strangely powerful." She paused, her eyes narrowing. "You healed remarkably fast for someone with no magic."
Eryndor hesitated. He knew the glowing screen, the words, the System, were his secret. He couldn't share it. He decided to play ignorant. "I… I feel fine. Better than fine. The pain is completely gone. And about the light… I don't know what it was. It felt… overwhelming." He tried to sound confused, rubbing his temples as if trying to recall something that was just beyond his grasp.
"Unusual is an understatement," Finn interjected, his eyes wide with a mixture of excitement. "It looked like you were being possessed by a star! And then you just… bounced back like nothing happened."
"Perhaps it was a latent healing ability, triggered by extreme stress," Julianne mused, though her eyes still held a flicker of suspicion. "Or a rare form of reactive arcane energy," she said, her tone low like she was trying to pick something.
"Why do you seem to be suspecting something, are you trying to say he can't do it by himself?"
"I did not mean that I was just...." She couldn't complete her words when Eryndor stopped them from arguing further.
"It's okay, maybe something triggered and I got healed there is no big deal maybe it was my pendant," he reached out for his neck and touched a empty skin, 'it's not here,' he thought.
"Pendant there is no such thing with you are you imagining things?" Finn said with a one slightly raised brow.
"No, nevermind."
"I'm Julianne by the way," she introduced to Eryndor who turned to look at the blonde girl,a thought hits his head.
'isn't she the girl with Powers much greater than all the ones who came to enroll in the academy? ' he smiled at her and said, "you are the A rank student, how did you have so much powers?"
"Oh that, my father was one of the archmage of Argentum, he is among the high authorities of the school, so...I heard you are from vernevile?" She said staring at him her hand still crossed behind her back.
"Yes." He answered
"You are a Thorne?"
"Yes__why all these questions?" He asked staring at her quizzically.
"Oh I'm sorry if that offends you, it's just that there was a great archmage who goes by the name Arinthal Thorne, is he your grandfather?" he nodded one of his brow raised and a faint frown settled on his face.
"How did you know him?" Eryndor asked confused that she knew about him, finn who was lost in the conversation that they were having just stood beside Eryndor listening meticulously to what Julianne was saying.
'so he is really the great Arinthal grandson, hmph, interesting,' she thought, "he was a good friend to my grandfather that's all and he was a well known archmage in vernevile and Argentum, so that's how I knew him," she answered and his face became calm after hearing her response, "I will leave now I have to get ready for the class tomorrow, goodnight, " the next thing they heard was the sound of a door getting slammed.
"Arinthal son, no wonder he passed all the exams even without magic, Arinthal was not only strong but smart and holds knowledge of everything about magic," she frowned as she strides toward a tall building where all the high authorities resides. "If this guy were to pass all the exams and admitted that means he still have a chance of coming to class A, no I can't let that happen, I have to get advice from Father." Her gaze solemn and sombre.
"That's why she has such immense powers," Eryndor remarked and Finn nodded agreeing to what he said.
"I do not like her that much," Finn confessed.
"What do you mean she is cool unlike Darius who looks down on the d ranks." Eryndor said.
"She acts like she knows everything I hate when people acts like that," Finn frowned.
"Just forget about it, it's getting late we should get to our rooms." Eryndor suggested and they left the infirmary, kaiden saw them striding to their dorm not too far from where he was and narrowed his brows at Eryndor.
'A normal human with no abilities was able to pass the exams, he has great knowledge concerning magic more than the others, and he goes by the name Thorne,' his left hand was at his back his other hand holding his muscular jaw, "which means he might be related to Arinthal that's why he has such knowledge concerning magic, I heard the Thornes were powerful why is he different from the rest of them?" Series of questions popped up in kaiden mind as he racked his brain to see how he could answer one of his many questions.
They went to their dorms and ate their food that was distributed to them, and Finn who was too full went to bed while Eryndor lay restless in his bed, thinking about the system that was now activated. Finn gentle snores filled the quiet room. Food had been plentiful tonight, a scheduled distribution that left them both with full stomachs, yet only one of them found true rest.
[NOTIFICATION!]
The voice in his head said and he stared at the screen and it reads, [you have received one MP which is to heal in 50 seconds but depending on the opponent energy] and it disappears.
'hmmm fascinating,' he thought and rotates his head to find side waiting for him to fall in deep sleep before he goes to a quiet place to observe the system granted to him
As Finn's snores grew more regular, Eryndor carefully pushed aside his blanket. Each movement was deliberate, quiet, as he slid off the bed. He crept towards the door, his hand finding the cool metal of the doorknob. With agonizing slowness, he turned it, a soft click barely audible in the stillness of the night. He slipped out, closing the door behind him with equal caution.
His feet carried him swiftly through the quiet campus, a blur of dorms and academic buildings. His destination was the student material shop, a place usually bustling with activity but now deserted in the late hours. Along a wall, a worn wooden bench leaned on it, he walked up to it cleaning the bench with his palm and sat down, he was only wearing his uniform without the knee length jacket.
Mere seconds later, a shimmering screen materialized before him, its glow reflecting on his eyes that has now turned blue because of its light. A familiar, feminine computer voice resonated directly in his mind, clear and precise.
[Welcome host]