The flow of my blood felt colder than before as i could faintly sense the pulsating sensation spreading through my veins.
My body has started to shiver long before i noticed.
Embracing the cold my body remembered the sensation well.
The moment of my death as i knelt on the wet snow that was up to my waist.
I was drowning.
Drowning in the endless downpour of ice and mud that flowed through me.
- Urp
My throat turned hoarse as saliva dropped down my chin when i forgot how to swallow.
I couldn't see or smell.
The feeling of touch had turned numb.
My eyes sewed shut as i tried to shake off the feeling of horror and disgust.
I had to endure it, to not walk away without any gains.
- Drip
Tears of blood started to fall down my cheeks as my brain felt like it was melting.
I could sense it.
Just a little longer.
And i will finally be normal.
- Grab.
"You can stop, that's enough."
- Gasp!
Taking a deep breath Vlad started to cough franticaly while gripping his chest.
His thought process stopped as he hugged his shoulders ready to throw up.
- Clank!
A metal bucket was placed next to him.
"Not on the floor."
Elizabeth's stern voice echoed in his ears as he pulled himself back from gaggin taking slow deep breaths.
It was as if something had been wrapped around his limbs. Trying to devour his bones from the inside.
The mana that has been running rampant inside his body was long gone making one wonder how he could still keep his consciousness.
Mana.
It's an unknown force that has no place of origin.
It could be called life force in a way, fueling every living being be it animals or plants.
Exshausting your mana makes one weak leaving them in partially drunk state of mind.
The bodily functions start to slowly cease as the heart gets overwhelmed by the lack of mana.
Blood will start to clog throughout the blood vessels and later.
Death.
That is the fate of those who are careless.
And yet i still did it knowing the risks. Because i wanted to get stronger without wasting any time.
"It's already impressive that you actually managed to reach a level of mana enchancing but it's way too unstable for daily usage."
'Ugh'
She placed her slender hands on my back from which mana had started to spread out inside my body.
"I'm just going to clean up the mess you made by pushing yourself. I suggest meditation or physical exercises to somewhat increase the amount of mana you absorb."
- Haah..
Letting out a deep sigh she got up leaving behind a towel and a gold coin.
"Get yourself something to ease the pain, it seems your body can only maintain it in short outbursts which can do more harm than you think."
- Click
The door closed behind her as i sat on the ground wiping off the accumulated sweat.
'It's possible'
Although i was still unfamiliar to the concepts she mentioned. I realized that i could finally use mana to some extent which would make me stand out a little less from the rest.
Although it did come with a small drawback i preffered to look at it in a positive way.
"Thank you" i mumbled to the empty space.
*
"See? I told you hes not bad." Marco reassured Ash with a smirk.
She didn't respond as she intently stared at the zephyr catching his breath and the lifeless Vlad who was laying on the ground.
"I still don't like him, he acts like he's better than us and it just.. makes my blood boil."
"It's fine." He reassured while pulling something out.
He went up to Zephyr who gave a simple nod of approval and then knelt down in front of Vlad while putting the item he just took out under his nose.
- Sniff.
His nose scrunched up as his eyes slowly slid open revealing his gold glaring pupils.
It was a pouch of smelling salt which he bought earlier for the trip, although it's purpose wasn't intended for this, it seemed like the best thing to do since alerting the teachers about sparring with real swords and then injurimg someone during it would bring big consequences.
"How are you feeling?" He spoke to him out of pure worry.
But Vlad didn't respond at first as he clenched his fists and said through his gritted teeth.
"You're dead."
"I take it as a yes."
Pulling out a flask from his pocket he gave it to Vlad who didn't even try to touch the liquid contained in it.
"It's a healing potion so drink it and let's go, we don't have much time since beginning of the year is the only time we can do this."
Without a word, he drank it in one gulp.
A warm sensation washed over his exshausted body, the previous fatigue vanishing in an instant as if nothing happened in these last few minutes.
The skin slowly mended itself returning to its original state.
'that feels nice'
Vlad thought as he stood up and looked at Zephyr who stared at his own hands.
'he's probably trying to figure out how i did that'
A screen floated beside me seemingly invisible to others.
[Mana Enchancement]
[Status: Used]
[Cooldown: 05:57:26]
[Enchances your body to twice your current strenght at the cost of your vitality]
It appeared after a few one on one lessons with Elizabeth. At first i wasn't exactly sure how i got it but thanks to her explanations i pieces together that because of me not being born with mana, the way i controlled it became different making it into a skill that people learn later on.
Although i couldn't really use it in regular fights, i could keep it as a trump card in case i need to surprise my oponent or end the fight quickly.
Moments before Zephyr deflected my sword i used mana enchancement offseting his grip and unabling him to counterattack.
'i still passed out in the end'
It was only a few seconds and i already collapsed.
That would need to change if i planned not to faint after every spar i had.
Shaking me out of my thoughts was Marco who threw his arm around my shoulder.
"Alright then, since he had proven his skills we can go now."
Zephyr, didn't utter a word as he nodded and picked up his sword quietly while Ash snickered and dejectedly uttered. "Fine."
*
- Clack
Marco walked out of the Instructor Ians office with a small piece of paper smiling like always.
All we had to do was show up at one of the main proffesors office and get their signature on a special permission slip.
"Is that all?"
I asked clearly annoyed by how much we had to wait just to get teachers permission.
"Yup!" He said as we all stood up.
It seemed that i wasn't the only person who was already annoyed by it as Zephyr let out a sigh.
"I hope you keep your promise."
"I will, don't you worry."
My brows furrowed upon hearing this.
'promise?'
Was it that their relationship was just for money? If so then what was i doing here with nothing promised to my name.
We left the academies premises while i thought if i became a slave to this man.