Who were those hooded people I chased after? Was the first question that had me restless. Their presence had almost slipped off my mind completely due to the battle I had with the professor.

There was one following me and two more on standby. They seemed to be around my height so were they students too? If so who did I anger to have them after me?

The first person I thought of was Alexander since he's always hated me, so could he have been one of the three? Two of them launched wind-attributed attacks at me, and from my knowledge, Alexander does possess an affinity for wind so he's a likely suspect.

Say one of them was Alexander, which I was starting to believe more by the second, would the identities of the other two not be so far off my string of knowledge? Alexander is in the student council and he's made connections with the other members. Due to his hostile hatred toward me, he probably made a bad impression of my character to them.

Additionally, above Alexander stands the student council president, Arel Sapphirus. Recognized as the most talented and possibly the strongest student currently residing in this school. He and I have a shaky relationship.

On the surface, everything seems fine but subtle cues within his gaze and minor actions hint at hidden motives, and unfortunately, by the air he gives off, they don't seem likely to be positive.

It all started back when I met Asia. Arel and her had a unique type of relationship, where only Asia valued a sense of friendship. While Arel only had her around because it suited his greedy mind.

Then, I met Asia, I didn't even know she was a princess and I didn't even mean to form a close connection with her. At the time I was still fawning over the great energy of life I came to know as magic, and approached her just because of it.

However, the more I spoke to her, the more I was intrigued by her life. First I wondered what a girl like her was doing inside the Royal Castle and knew she had to have been from a high-standing family but that wasn't what mattered. At the time there was something off about her. She seemed distant, quiet, and sad.

She reminded me of how I felt when I first came into this world, I knew, better than most, how it felt to be in that pit of darkness with no one else to rely on. So, a part of me tried to be there for her by telling her silly stories. I later came to know that it was because her father had died recently that she was unhappy.

Little by little, her spirits seemed to lift, and that didn't fit well with Arel. We first saw each other at the Royal Banquet, where he noticed that the princess was smiling again so he did what most spoiled children do, throw a fit. He began badmouthing me wildly which Asia didn't take lightly.

Sometime later, I found myself in the castle once again, abducted, where I saw Asia in the same state I originally found her in, remote, isolated, unapproachable, and downcast.

After I managed to talk with her, a faint smile returned to her face. It was then that Asia realized it too, Arel was a poison, and she needed to get rid of him, and that she did.

The next time Arel and I met, there was always a certain air about him, as if there was an ulterior motive for every single one of his actions, down to the smallest details. The way he walked. Talked. Each glance of his eyes. Each minor expression on his face. It all just seemed deliberate and at times calculated.

Something else worth noting is that Arel has only one magic affinity, that is wind, which he's honed to such a surprising level given his age.

Could he be one of the three that I chased around earlier? If Alexander was one of them, it would make sense that Arel is too... but who could the third be? I'm assuming another student council member. Katie's brother perhaps... I had a fight with him the day before... Who knows...

I let out a sigh and shifted in my bed before closing my eyes... I should just probably not be involved with them, avoid them, and not get myself into any more trouble. I wouldn't want to drag the others into it anyway. With that, I comfortably drifted to sleep.

***

The following morning I woke up feeling rather odd. I tried raising my arm and the muscles like my shoulders, biceps, and forearm felt tight and achy. I brushed it off and continued to sit up. My lower abdomen, back, and legs filled with the same sensation.

This resurfaced a hidden memory within me, the sensation of a feeling I hadn't felt for a long time. My body is completely sore. Letting out a breath, I stood up and stretched my body in different ways. It's not that bad, I can definitely put up with it.

It is weird that it happened though. Usually, for people like me, who circulate mana through their body regularly, muscle soreness is not a problem. Circulating mana serves to keep the muscles active and make them more resistant to overuse.

Especially for me, since I took in the Exosia, my mana is purer and my body is tougher. This means that the stunt I pulled last night, the imitation of perfect mana control, really pushed my body over its limits.

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I took a seat at the edge of my bed and concentrated. I extended my hand and placed it gently over my leg, feeling its weight against the aching muscle. Shortly after, faint green motes hovered around my hand, their glow expanding into a greenish mist that enveloped my leg, healing magic.

To my expectations, it didn't make a difference. The soreness remained the same. I really strained my body beyond my ability to repair it, not to mention I'm taking a course on healing. How funny. I thought, allowing the green motes to dissipate into the air.

Now, I could either wait, maybe a little longer than a week before the soreness goes away or I could get someone with greater healing capabilities than me to lift it on the spot. Maybe I'll go to the nurse before breakfast begins, I'd like to pick up Flare first though.

Just then, I noticed a figure moving in my peripheral. I turned up and saw Selkie rise from his sleep. He was on all fours stretching his lithe body while letting out a long, growling yawn. This scene never fails to amuse me.

After his stretch, he sat cross-legged atop his bed and locked eyes with me. "Morning!" he exclaimed, grinning my way from his top bunk. His hair was dark and messy and his yellow eyes shone with excitement as his delicate face conveyed his inner emotions.

Following his awakening, the others rose as well. Each of us readying ourselves for the day ahead while having small conversations in between. Through it all, I acted the same as I usually would, not wanting to burden the others with my problems.

After changing we exited the room and made our way outside the building. Like us, there were many students who were going about their day. However, I couldn't help but notice more than one curious glance cast in our direction. Each group of students we came across quickly stepped out of our way and watched us with tension.

Witnessing this, I couldn't help but feel that they were staring and avoiding me specifically. After the same thing occurred several times. After Ari, Selkie, Theodore, and I made it to our meeting point, we looked at each other unsure of what was happening.

Ari turned to me and, after my attention settled on him, he breathed, "I guess the rumor has gotten around."

I remained silent for a second, trying to make sense of his words. "What rumor—uh—" I began to ask when suddenly I remembered something. Yesterday, I exposed my ability to use lightning magic. Is that what has everyone acting weird around me?

"Yeah, even yesterday in the afternoon I heard people talking in class about you," said Selkie, tilting his head slightly to the side with an amused expression.

Hearing this, a mountain of uncertainty grew within me. What do I do now? I don't want to be the odd one out who people look at left and right. Ugh! Why do people make such a big deal out of something small? In my mind, I viewed it as something trivial since it had become second nature to me a long time ago while others might've seen it as some sort of spectacle.

Something about my outward appearance must have given away my inner turmoil as Theodore spoke, his tone comforting, "Don't worry too much about it. Before long, everyone is going to forget and things will go back to normal."

"I certainly hope," I replied, deciding it was best to disregard all these thoughts and go about my day as I normally would. Perhaps Theodore was right. Very soon everyone would forget.

"Good morning everyone." Just then a soft, feminine voice filled with warmth reached my ears. Turning around I saw Nia and Asia walking together toward us.

At their feet was a small wolf with white fur whose face lightened up as soon as she saw me. Flare's steps quickened as she ran to me and encircled me once with her tail swishing behind her. Her tongue hung out as she sat down beside me. Seeing this, I lowered my hand and patted her head. That's when I noticed her fur felt softer and cleaner.

"Where are the other two?" questioned Ari, his eyes switching between Asia and Nina. By that, he was referring to the two other girls who usually came out at the same as those two, Shina and Nia.

"They're both still getting ready. They should be out any time now," answered Nina.

"Shina always wakes up late but Nia as well..." mumbled Ari, his eyes casting to the side thoughtfully. With a sigh, he added, "And Asmodeus is not here yet either."

My hand involuntarily moved to scratch the side of my neck, that's when I turned my head and shifted my focus to a group of students walking by. I found each one of them staring directly at me. Even if it was just a quick curious glance, my paranoia picked up on it in an instant. Seeing this, they all awkwardly smiled and turned away quickly.

I then felt someone place a hand on my shoulder, startling me slightly. "Arata, what are you looking at?" questioned Ari, squeezing my shoulder slightly. Before I could respond he let out a, "Whoa!" as he squeezed my shoulder again.

Then he moved his hand lower to my arm, and forearm, and brought up both hands to squeeze my chest. It felt sort of soothing due to my soreness, almost like I was being massaged. However, I couldn't help but stare at him with an incredulous expression as I asked, "What are you doing?"

"Dude, why are your... muscles so stiff," Ari asked, his brows furrowing with intrigue. Leaning closer he repeated the same process and reached out to press both my shoulders with his hands.

I let out a sigh and pushed his hands away. "I was training and I might've overdone it." Was the only thing I said, not wanting to go over the whole story. Not right now at least.

"Are you okay?" asked Asia, taking a step closer to me, her eyes glinting with a hint of worry.

"I'm just a bit sore but I should be okay," I replied, showing a small smile, attempting to ease her worry and not make this a big fuss.

"You're able to use healing magic, right? Did you not try to use it on yourself?" Theodore questioned, his head tilting in curiosity as he awaited my answer.

"Unfortunately, this goes beyond my current abilities," I said, bringing my hand up to scratch the back of my head, feeling slightly embarrassed. Lowering my hand, I shrugged off the feeling and added, "I was actually planning to go and see the nurse."

"If that's the case, what better time to go than now," Ari said, his words piquing my interest. Noticing my silence and expression, he spoke again, "We're going to wait here for the others and do nothing anyway, so might as well."

"That makes sense," I admitted, pondering his words in my head. "Yeah, you're right. I'll be going then. I'll see you guys at lunch." With that, I took in the sight of everyone around me one last time before turning down toward the small white wolf at my feet. "Let's go Flare."

After saying the final goodbyes, Flare and I walked away. On our way to the nurse's office, my aching body was a clear reminder of the feat I achieved the previous day, my mind recalling the moments of my fight with Professor Amber.

Back then, I was able to enhance the various passages of mana within my body with calculated precision and even carve out new ones, bringing my strength up to new heights.

Given that, could I enhance other people's passages or perhaps even awaken them?