"Calm and collected. I'm calm and collected."
Despite Alwyn's calm and collected composure, he felt his hands shaking. It was out of his control. Truly, he was completely calm. His body's immune system, however, was on full alert.
Meanwhile,
"Oh man... I've really messed up now, haven't I? AS IF! ALL IN!" Linnie shouted, slamming his cards on the table.
"Kid, you just revealed your entire hand..."
"What? Damn you, old scamming bastards!"
Linnie was sweating—shaking even—as the money pouch became increasingly lighter. He was not very good at poker, or gambling for that matter, and it was an easy hole for him to fall into.
"You're the one who keeps adding to the pot, though... it's not our fault you're terrible."
Suddenly, the doors exploded off the hinges. The entire tavern went quiet, and everyone watched as Alwyn stumbled inside.
"F... fuuu.... finally, damn. Lin, get away from those dirty bastards!"
"Who're you calling a dirty bastard!? We're in the middle of a game, so if you wanna leave early, he forfeits the entire pot!"
"...Okay? I don't care," Alwyn said, grabbing Linnie by the collar as if he were a dog grabbing a pup by the scruff.
Unlike a cute and docile puppy, though, Linnie scratched and squirmed like a rabid beast. "Let me go! If I leave now, I've lost everything! All my money!"
"It wasn't your money in the first place, idiot." Alwyn looked around at the forty-or-more necks craning in their direction.
"Oh, right. It was fun, see ya guys later," Linnie saluted the table as Alwyn carried him out the doors.
"Lin, I'm gonna... probably, pass... out... so just bring me... to... that b—I mean, Aliza."
"Huh!? What happened? You look fine to me!"
"I got infected—by one of these... sick... dogs..." he trailed off, falling flat onto the dirt.
"Naw, you're not actually out, are you?" Linnie whispered, poking him in the cheek. "...Seriously? How am I supposed to carry you all that way!?"
Linnie grabbed Alwyn's ankles and started dragging him down the street. A few passersby gave strange glances, but none questioned the scene.
"You're supposed to be the reliable, sturdy, trusty teacher! Why am I dragging you down the street...!? Damn, I knew I should've become a knight..."
"I know you're having nasty thoughts about me..." Alwyn said after a while.
"You're awake? Walk by yourself, then," Linnie said.
"I can't move. This shit is deadly."
"What even is it? You were fine a few hours ago, weren't you?"
"It's a mana disease. This entire city is a death trap. She obviously didn't tell me everything, damn her..."
"A mana disease... so that means it, uh, what? Makes the mana sick?"
"It means it kills people with mana, dumbass! It acted so quickly because it had so much mana to infect."
"Oh, I see. So I'm in danger, too, right?"
"That's why I told you to get away from those people. If I had to guess, this entire city is infected. Hopefully it didn't get you, too."
"I don't wanna die to some mana disease."
"You won't. Not as long as she treats us. Speaking of, you're gonna need to convince her."
"Me!? Why do I gotta do it?"
"She's into younger boys."
"Oh... really?"
"And she hates me. So it's up to you."
"You're a real awful teacher..."
"Don't misunderstand, I could fix this in a second. I'm just using this as a... learning... opportunity. For you."
"And what exactly am I supposed to be learning from this...?"
"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?"
Linnie waddled awkwardly into the store, approached the desk, and rang the bell. "Hello? Miss Aliza, are you here?"
A head poked through the curtain. "Oh, Alwyn's apprentice? Why're you here?"
"Oh, well, I was wondering..." Linnie cleared his throat and continued in a faux cute voice. "I know you've got a long line of clients, and, well..."
She crossed her arms, unamused. "Just spit it out already."
"Alwyn's seizing and foaming and twitching in the mud right outside because he's totally dying," Linnie said. "Oh, that's not what I was supposed to say. What was I supposed to say, again...? Damn..."
"So he got infected, did he? I thought this might happen. Bring him inside," she laughed.
"Uh-oh. I don't have a good feeling about this..." Linnie thought.
The two lifted him through the curtain and onto an operating table. To the left was another table on top of which was a man who had definitely seen better days. Linnie wasn't sure if he was dead or alive.
"Alright, time to wake him back up!" Aliza said, shoving her thumb down his throat.
"Ghkah! Get off me!" Alwyn said, swatting her away.
"Oh, relax. You should be thanking me for even letting you on my operating table..." she scoffed.
"You didn't tell me about this..."
"About what?"
"That it's a mana disease, you dumb wh—" Alwyn started, but Linnie slapped his hands over his mouth, cutting him off.
"That's no way to speak to a woman, man... not cool..."
Aliza giggled at that, but signed for Linnie to remove his hands.
"This city's gonna crumble into dust, and you know it. In fact, typically I'd torch this entire place to ash before it can spread."
"But why's it killing normal people if it's a 'mana disease'?" Linnie finally asked.
"Everyone brings mana in, whether they're wizards or not. Every time you breathe in and out, you're taking in ambient mana from around you. The only difference between wizards and normal people is how good your core is at storing mana," Alwyn said.
"Oh... everyone has a mana core, then?"
"...Yeah," he sighed. "Unless it's—"
"You've figured it all out. I already knew all of this, though...? You do know that I've been working with this illness for months at this point," Aliza said. "And I already told you the treatment, so...?"
"Yeah, but that's not what I'm here for. First thing you're gonna do is cure me, and then you're going to let me kill you."