Chapter 172: A Brutally Honest Observation

Loh Noir tapped her fingers on the balcony’s railing incessantly. The wagon and the volunteers inside had arrived at the base of the tower a few minutes ago, along with the students escorting them. Vayu Glaz was already down below talking to the students.

“They are taking too long,” Loh muttered.

“They will be here soon,” Professor Gete yawned.

Loh caught sight of Stryg and Clypeus Gale limping their way from the tree line and into the grassy clearing below. Loh stepped past Gete and ran down the tower's stairs. She slammed the door open and was met with the most beautiful, annoyed face in the world.

“Tauri?”

“Explain,” Tauri pushed her way inside and closed the door shut.

Loh cleared her throat, “What do you mean?”

“This,” Tauri pointed at her broken arm. “And this,” she raised her other hand, two fingers were broken and the skin had been torn from her knuckles.

“W-what happened?” Loh grabbed Tauri’s shoulders, worry seeped from her voice.

“Your little blue monster happened. I knew Stryg was more physically capable than his classmates, but what I saw out there, that, that wasn’t normal. So explain to me why that kid’s agility spell surpasses those of an adept’s or why his body is as tough as a tree?”

Loh rubbed the back of her neck, “I don’t know what to say really. I’m not entirely sure why Stryg’s physical abilities are so… abnormal. Stryg was clearly gifted with various mutations, something unprecedented, or so my grandfather said.”

“Wait a sec. Are you saying that Elzri is involved in all of this?”

“Yes?” Loh winced.

“I thought you and him were still not on the best of terms. I didn’t think you would be okay having him involved with your apprentice.”

Loh sighed, “I’m not, not really. But I don’t have much of a choice either, Stryg needs the best training possible.”

“And you can’t give him that?” Tauri laughed. “You’re a tri-manifold high-master and you share the same three chromatic colors as Stryg. That kid is lucky to have you, what more could he need?”

“I guess you're right,” Loh smiled half-heartedly.

“I know I am. Now, I’m gonna go find a white mage to heal me.”

“Please do. That looks really painful,” Loh said sympathetically.

“Oh, it's excruciating, I was just really trying to hold it together in front of the students,” Tauri winced.

“Hurry to the healer’s ward then!”

“Fine, but when I get back we’re finishing this conversation.”

“Sure, whatever,” Loh opened the door for her.

Tauri walked out and paused in her steps, “Ah, one last thing. Is it me or does Stryg really not like me?”

“Don’t take it personally, I don’t think he likes any orcs.”

“Meh, I’m not much of a fan of the little blue savage anyway,” she shrugged.

“Tauri.”

“I had to say it. There’s something off about that kid.”

“Tauri.”

“What?”

“He’s glaring at you.”

“Huh?” Tauri glanced over at the wagon.

Stryg stood apart from the rest of the students at the clearing. Vayu was talking to them, yet Stryg’s lilac eyes were watching Tauri.

“...Tell me, Loh, by any chance, does Stryg have a particularly good ear?” Tauri asked.

“As in can he tell one musical note apart from another? No. Stryg can’t sing to save his life. Or did you mean can Stryg hear people whispering from across the street like a fucking bat? Then yes, very much so.”

“Oh,” Tauri blinked. “~In that case~” She turned to Stryg and stuck out her tongue.

Stryg frowned. Loh burst into laughter.

“Go get yourself to a healer,” Loh chuckled.

“Sure thing, boss.”

Loh’s eyes lingered on Tauri’s large bottom as the orc jogged into the trees. Eventually, she forced herself to look away and walk over to the students.

“And that is why you all failed. Except for Kithina, she was the only one who seemed to want to get the wagon and its occupants to safety. The rest of you were behaving like damn warmongers,” Vayu chastised.

His words didn’t seem to reach most of the students, since half of them were still unconscious. Kithina was one of the few students who seemed very eager to listen.

“But we got the wagon to safety at least. The other students literally ran away,” Kegrog pointed out.

“So they failed as well. Doesn’t change the fact that you all failed to focus on the priority, protecting the wagon,” Vayu said.

Loh joined him in front of the students, “Professor Glaz is right. You may think you all succeeded in defending the wagon, but remember this exercise was meant to simulate your final exam, and one of the three challenges at The Great Cities Tourney next year. I promise you the enemies you will encounter at the tourney will be far more dangerous. You won’t get a chance to simply fight them, they will kill you. You all have to learn when to fight and when to retreat. Am I clear?”

The students nodded glumly and muttered in agreement, even Kithina’s smug smile disappeared.

“I think that will be all for today, try to get some rest while you can. The final exam will be in a week, prepare yourselves. You’re dismissed,” Vayu clapped his hands.

Everyone broke off and began making their way back to their dorms and the academy’s healing ward. Only one student lingered behind, his head hung low, and his shoulders shook.

“I’m sorry, master... I failed you. I tried my best, I didn’t give up, I kept fighting, but I still failed... It’s so frustrating,” Stryg clenched his fists.

Loh patted his silver head of hair, “No, you did not. You may have failed this exam, sure, but you never failed me. Remember that, always.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll try harder,” he sniffed.

“You don’t have to try harder,” Loh sighed. “Look, I know what it’s like to feel as if you’re not good enough. You may even think that if you push yourself a little more, if you reach that next milestone, then maybe, just maybe, you’ll be good enough. But all you will end up doing is pushing yourself until you break.”

“I don’t break so easily.”

“We all break eventually. Listen to what I am saying; You don’t have to prove yourself to me, Stryg. I already know you’re one in a million and that’s enough for me. I hope it’s enough for you.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat, “I… don’t know.”

“Well, while you figure it out let’s go get something to eat. Or do you need to go to the healer’s ward too?”

“No, I’ll heal,” Stryg shook his head.

“Atta boy,” Loh patted his back. “I was in the mood for some steak in the Villa District, what do you think?”

“Do they have venison steak?”

“I dunno, let’s find out.”

“Can we invite Feli?”

“Meh, why not.”

~~~

“Despite Callum Veres’ anxious behavior he managed to protect the wagon with his red wards and healed a student who had been severely injured. He also helped fight off one of the trolls with bright spells, but he ran out of chromatic white mana mid-battle,” Ismene said.

“I see, he still has a long way to go,” Elzri wrote a few words down in his journal. “What of your apprentice, Nora Azol?”

Ismene narrowed her eyes.

“Please, don’t patronize me. You’re giving the girl private lessons on academy grounds, how was I not supposed to find out,” Elzri said.

“You are always so keen on the smallest details, Riri. Yet when it really counts you are as blind as a newborn,” Ismene smacked her cane into his desk.

“So you love to remind me,” he sighed. “So, Nora?”

“...She’s wonderful,” Ismene admitted. “Nora could rival an adept if she knew how to control her powers. Unfortunately, her true abilities only seem to reveal themselves when she is trying to protect others.”

“A true hero then.”

“More like a foolish girl too afraid of her own magical abilities.”

“And they call me callous,” he smirked.

“Riri, I know you didn’t call me into your office to talk about my apprentice or the other students. Ask the question.”

“What question?”

Ismene twisted her lips into a brutal smile, “Please, don’t patronize me. You ask me to personally teach a goblin child how to cast blue spells and then swear me to secrecy, why?”

“He is my granddaughter’s apprentice. I was simply doing a favor for Loh.”

“Bullshit. They call you callous for a reason. That boy is more special than you wish to let on, I’m simply trying to determine how special.”

Elzri leaned back in his chair, “You are as keen as always, even when it counts.”

“One of us has to be. Otherwise, you would have burned this whole academy to the ground by now,” Ismene smirked.

“We used to say that, didn't we?” Elzri chuckled.

“Different times, different lives,” she glanced out the window.

“...Yes, yes they were.” Elzri cleared his throat, “How is Stryg? Not only in today’s exam, but in general. You have been speaking with him often, correct?”

Ismene curled her fingers around her cane over and over in thought, “Stryg is… a work in progress. I talk to him before and after each meditation session. The boy’s culture is different from our own and while he has learned to adjust in many ways, there are still several glaring points that could lead him into trouble.”

Elzri tapped his pen on the desk, “He is from a Sylvan tribe, I expected as much. I’ve seen him struggle to understand certain basic concepts, but he is a brilliant child, I cannot deny that. He has already mastered various basic segments of the arcane language.”

“Impressive, especially for a second-year student. Loh must be having a blast teaching him curse spells,” she smiled.

“Indeed,” he nodded.

“But Stryg’s issues never came from his magical talents. You wanted to know more of how he is progressing mentally, emotionally.”

“It would be helpful, yes.”

“...Stryg is a child with many scars and traumas, I don’t even know how deep most of them run. What I do know is that the boy suffers from low self-esteem and it affects his decisions immensely.”

Elzri furrowed his brow, “Self-esteem? Heh, that goblin is one of the most prideful students on campus. I’ve had several reports from teachers complaining about how Stryg beat up another student for insulting him. If he wasn’t the apprentice of House Noir’s heiress I don’t doubt there would be several minor Houses going after the boy.”

“Always blind when it counts,” Ismene shook her head. “It’s because Stryg is self-conscious of his own worth that he reacts so violently when others demean him. I believe part of it stems from the fact that he is the only goblin in the academy and how Hollow Shade played an integral part in the destruction of Lunis.”

“He knows about Lunis? I suppose it makes sense. That could be an issue,” Elzri jotted a few words in his journal.

“I think the larger issue comes from his past. Stryg has refused to tell me almost anything of his time in Vulture Woods and the Blood Fang tribe. From what I’ve gathered, he was abused and tormented far beyond what a child should ever endure. Yet he still craves the tribe’s approval. Do you know why?”

“Not particularly. I don’t have many personal chats with the boy.”

Ismene rolled her eyes, “It’s because he never had approval. Growing up, I don’t think Stryg ever had anyone who ever told him he was valued no matter how hard he worked, in fact, I think it was the very opposite. Stryg clearly cares for his people, he is proud to be a Sylvan goblin, yet he doesn’t believe he is worthy of them. And that pain, coupled with his upbringing, has led to a very cold young man with very dangerous abilities.”

“You mean a sociopath?”

“No, Stryg is not so far gone. He cares for people, the problem is his limit of empathy extends very little. He seems to view everything and everyone from a tribal perspective. If you are in his small circle of friends then he will fight fang and claw for you, but he couldn't care less if you were anyone else.”

“He would kill others then?”

“Most definitely. I’m quite certain he already has,” Ismene nodded. “On the plus side, his friends seem to have helped him open up and maybe even begin to believe in himself a bit.”

“What about his wife? The common wench he married a couple of months back?”

Ismene frowned, “Her name is Feli. She is good for Stryg. She seems to truly love him and he loves her. The problem is she condones all of his actions, no matter their brutality.”

“Yes, I can see how that would make it difficult to change him.”

“Change him? What makes you think you can change him? Growth comes from within, don’t forget that.”

“I disagree. I believe anyone can be changed given the right push.”

“That change isn’t always good, is it, Riri?”

“What are you implying?” Elzri narrowed his cold grey eyes.

“I think you know exactly what I am saying. Or perhaps you never did change, perhaps you were always the cold-blooded man in front of me.”

Elzri stared at her in silence, she met his steely gaze calmly.

“...Is there anything else I should be aware of regarding Stryg?” Elzri asked.

“Yes, your granddaughter. Stryg is very attached to Loh. He craves her approval more than anyone else’s. She seems to be the first real emotional connection Stryg made in Hollow Shade, perhaps even the most important one. Stryg relies on Loh. I think you know why that might be an issue.”

“Loh’s unstable mental state,” Elzri said quietly. “I’ll talk to her.”

A knock rang on the door.

Elzri’s vampiress secretary, Lily, pushed the door open, “Sorry to intrude. Professor Loh Noir is here to see you, Lord Noir. She is in the waiting room. Should I bring her in?”

“You expected this?” Ismene asked.

“I had a hunch,” Elzri shrugged.

“I’ll take my leave then, don’t be too harsh with the girl, Loh has been through enough,” Ismene gripped her cane and pushed herself to her feet.

“Let me help you, ma’am,” Lily offered.

“Out of my way,” Ismene smacked Lily’s shin with her cane.

The vampiress squeaked in pain and fell to her knees.

“Does it look like I need your help to bloody walk?” Ismene didn’t wait for an answer. She shut the door behind her.

“Lily, I don’t think the Tempest Archmage needs anyone’s help, nor do I think she wants your help,” Elzri said.

“Duly noted, my lord,” Lily winced.