Chapter 22:

Kithina didn’t know what to make of the scene in front of her. Kegrog had grabbed the small Stryg and had him held tight. It seemed as if the little goblin would explode from the pressure. But then Kegrog began to groan in pain. His skin turned pale and he had crashed to the ground. Stryg didn’t look much better, but his lilac eyes were clear, focused. He then tried to kill Kegrog. Not just beat him in the mock duel, Stryg had actually tried to slit the orc’s throat.

Kithina had thought Stryg was just some random back alley goblin who had gotten lucky to be a mageborn. A person who didn’t take anything in the academy seriously. He couldn’t even tie his own shoes. She had seen him as a hindrance to her group project, an annoyance, nothing more. Then he ran faster than the entire class. Professor Loh had called him a hybrid. It would explain his speed Kithina surmised. But, it shouldn’t have made a difference when he had fought an orc twice his size and weight and yet Stryg had won just the same. He had even attempted cold-blooded murder in front of everyone. He wasn’t just some random goblin. He was dangerous.

Loh’s shadow pulled Kegrog away right before Stryg’s claws slashed his neck open. Instead of getting angry, reprimanding, or even punishing Stryg, Loh simply laughed and called Stryg a manifold mage. Didn’t she care about the lives of her students? Was it just a joke to her?

“What just happened? Is Kegrog alright?” Nora, one of her classmates, asked.

“He’ll be fine, just needs to rest for a while.” Loh patted the half-conscious orc. “You did well buddy, not your fault your opponent tried casting a spell without any practice, like I literally just warned you all not to do.”

Loh walked over to Stryg who lay on the ground unmoving. He couldn’t move even if he wanted to. His lungs felt as if they were being squeezed shut. It felt like his heart was slamming all over his chest. His whole body burned as if on fire. A few moments ago he had felt filled with energy, now he couldn’t even lift a finger.

“Well, lucky for all of us we have a perfect demonstration of what not to do. You, see Stryg here was being squeezed to a pulp by Kegrog. He was desperate to get out of the hold. In his desperation the mana within him reacted and he created an unstable grey spell. Which lucky for Stryg, weakened Kegrog and allowed him to win. I say lucky because Stryg is only paralyzed and not dead. This was a best case scenario for our resident goblin idiot. Now, on to the next mock duel,” Loh stated.

“Is Stryg going to be ok?” Nora asked with a hand to her mouth. “Will he be paralyzed forever?”

“Maybe, I don’t know.” Loh shrugged.

“That’s not an answer,” Nora pouted with a mutter.

Callum, the half-vampire, kneeled next to Stryg. “Can you move at all?”

Stryg managed a groan.

“Loh, he needs immediate medical attention. Let me take him to the infirmary,” Callum said.

“Denied,” Loh said.

“Please, he looks seriously injured,” Callum pleaded.

“I said no. Now get up, you will be fighting next,” Loh said.

Kithina stepped forward. She was cautious of Stryg, but she didn’t want him to be paralyzed either. “Loh-”

“If one of you says one more word about the goblin, I will make sure that you end up in the infirmary. Am I clear?” Loh threatened.

Kithina took a step back in fear.

“Now, what exactly did you want to say girl? Hm?” Loh asked.

Kithina glanced at the immobile Stryg and a worried Callum. “Um, you mentioned a manifold mage earlier. What is that?”

Loh narrowed her eyes. “A manifold mage refers to a mage who can use more than one chromatic color. Stryg’s record shows he’s a chromatic black, but he just cast a grey spell. He clearly possesses two chromatic colors. The records must have mistakenly left out the information. Now, no more questions.”

The rest of the class proceeded smoothly. Students were split into pairs and were forced to fight in hand-to-hand combat. Most of it was quite tame, with one of the combatants admitting defeat after being punched once. Kithina had been forced to fight Clypeus, the only vampire in class. She was worried he’d beat her silly, but the fight had lasted only a moment. Clypeus had knocked her feet over with a low kick. She was too slow to react.

Kithina felt her face go red with embarrassment. Instead of mocking her, Clypeus held out his hand. “Don’t sweat it. We’re all here to learn,” he said earnestly.

Kithina smiled and took his hand. “Thanks.”

The session ended without any other serious injuries. Loh slapped awake the human student she had knocked out at the beginning of class. She ordered Clypeus and Callum to help carry Kegrog and the human to the infirmary, but no one was allowed to touch Stryg.

---

Stryg squinted at the sky. The sun was too bright. He was still on the cold stone floor. The autumn winds blew away whatever little heat the sunshine offered. This was the second time today he was left lying on the ground. He was getting tired of it. He was tired of being mistreated. It was to be expected of course. He was an oddity, and despite his newfound speed, compared to the magi, he was still far from powerful. It was common for the strong to lord over the weak. He was tired of being weak, too. In fact, he was just tired. He really wanted to go to his dorm. Small as it was, it had a wonderful bed. It had only been a few days since he got it, but it had quickly become his prized possession.

The drow mage’s face blocked the sun as she stood over him. “They’re gone, you can get up now,” Loh said.

Stryg’s head lolled to the side. “You stopped me from killing him. Why?”

“Because, contrary to what you may think, it’s still my job to keep you idiots alive,” Loh smirked.

“I don’t feel alive,” Stryg grumbled. His limbs felt numb, but at least they weren’t hurting anymore.

“That’s to be expected, you cast a drain spell without knowledge of how it worked. The fact that you managed to drain the lifeforce of your opponent and not yourself speaks volumes of your talent. Though you did manage to let all that lifeforce go instead of absorbing it.”

“Talent?” Stryg asked in confusion.

“Most mageborn who accidentally cast a spell do it out of sheer desperation, frustration, or fear. The magic is created out of panic. The spell is erratic. The mageborn is unaware of what has even happened, they are terrified. But you weren’t scared were you? You’re clearly not trained, yet you somehow knew what you were doing. At least, you had an idea of it. Otherwise your arms would have been much worse off based on the amount of mana you wasted. You’ve cast that spell before haven’t you?”

Stryg looked away, “Once… I think.”

“I guessed as much,” Loh nodded. “You had a decent image of what you wished to cast, if not an understanding of what exactly it was. That’s why you weren’t able to absorb the lifeforce by the way.”

“Oh...” Stryg wasn’t sure what to say.

“Though that’s not what really interests me. Stryg you may not understand, but you just cast an advanced spell, something beyond the average first-year student. The amount of mana it took was larger than any first-year should have. But, it’s the fact that the spell had any success at all that’s surprising. Real focus was needed to cast it, not unstable emotions born out of panic. I highly doubt you cast that spell with a clear mind like professor Ismene teaches.” Loh crouched next to him. “So, what did you use as a focus?”

Stryg stared at her inquisitive blue eyes. He hesitated, but the words came out just the same. “Anger.”

“At whom?”

“Everyone.”

“Including yourself?”

Stryg closed his eyes. “...Always.”

Loh placed her hand over her mouth. “Anger is very volatile. To have it stay so single-minded, so concentrated. The extent of it is...wow. I don’t think I’ve ever met a mage who can cast with anger so well and I’ve met a lot of mages who have relied on anger. Plus, he has two of my three chromatic colors. Coupled with his large source of mana and his hybrid physical abilities, hmm,” she muttered to herself.

Loh sprang to her feet. “That settles it. I, Loh Noir, will take you on as my personal apprentice.”

“What?” Stryg gawked.

“It means I will teach you magic. Seeing as you’re already going to take “Intro to Black Magic,” I can personally teach you about grey magic and tips on black magic too. All you have to do is also be my personal assistant. So, you’ll have to run errands and the like. But, you will get paid quite well. Pretty good deal if you ask me.”

“You? You’re gonna teach me? But, I thought you hated me?”

Loh frowned, “Why would I hate you?”

“You made me fight against an orc twice my size and left me here to die.” Stryg glared at her.

“Tsk, tsk. I paired you with the orc to test your physical capabilities. Not that you performed well, mind you, but professor Tauri vouched for you. I knew you’d be fine the moment I looked at you. It also gave us this chance to talk. Besides, I wouldn’t let one of my students just die on the floor like that, my pay would get docked.”

“Oh… I see,” Stryg mumbled.

“Be honored, from now on you may call me master,” Loh smiled.

“I am not your servant and I am definitely not your slave!” Stryg lashed out. He should have been scared of her, but at the moment he just didn’t care.

Loh crossed her arms. “Of course not. If you were I’d have you call me mistress. In this context, the word master refers to ‘teacher.’”

“Oh.”

“It’s not everyday I choose an apprentice. So, are you in or not?” Loh tapped her foot.

“...I’m not sure.” This woman was dangerous. Stryg wasn’t sure if he should get involved.

“Ah, I forgot. The academy offers apartments near campus to teachers’ personal assistants.”

“...Does it have a big bed?”

Loh grinned, “I’ll throw in the largest you’ve ever seen.”