I awoke with a startled gasp, sweat trailing down my face and onto the pillow beneath me – the pillow that was now covered in dirt and grime and filth, because I had not bothered to take a bath when I arrived. I smelled terrible, but that was nothing new to be entirely honest; I likely smelled this way for most of my life and it hadn’t bothered me before. Though, admittedly, the idea of taking a long and hot shower was especially enticing. Slowly, I pushed myself up off the bed and noted... how strong I suddenly felt. Every little movement somehow felt easier and lighter.

I leapt off and bounced up and down. I felt absolutely amazing. But then, my stomach grumbled loudly, almost roaring in pain and protest. I fell to the floor. There was a void inside me, a void that demanded food. My eyes widened and I tasted blood on my lips.

“What’s... happening?” I muttered, asking no one in particular. All the strength I’d felt earlier was suddenly gone. And my whole body was suddenly a thousand times heavier. I could barely even lift my head.

Your body has undergone the necessary augmentations as I’d promised, Lord Joseph answered, his deep voice echoing in my thoughts – a sound that was not a sound, ringing in my mind’s ears. However, you will need to replenish your stores of fat, protein, and carbohydrates to ensure a safe and proper transition. Your body is growing stronger with every passing second, but it's also growing weaker as it strives to strengthen itself by cannibalizing itself. Feed... there should be some food downstairs, unless I'm mistaken and they've changed that practice.

I nodded absently and pushed myself up as best as I could. The shower could wait until after I've eaten. I lumbered forward and pulled open the door, where I then walked into the hallway between all the individual rooms. Standing at the end of the hall was one of my fellow Neophytes, eyebags dark and irises dead; his skin was pale and chalky and his hair was disheveled. A large scar ran the length of his face. He locked eyes with me, briefly, before he stared off into a nearby wall and walked off... somewhere. I shrugged and turned away; perhaps, it would be good to start getting to know the other Neophytes soon. We were all in this together, after all, and it would be nice to have a few more friends - more bodies to put in front of me and Olga should the worst happen and we'd find ourselves in a fight for our lives.

I made my way down the short flight of stairs and found a familiar face down below, that boy who tried to escape, before Lady Victoria came and sent him to the floor. Antonio. He was eating a large meal of roasted chicken and rice on the dining table. There were many other plates there, though each of them held identical food items. I limped towards him. Antonio must've heard my footsteps as he turned and regarded me with wide, bloodshot eyes. His breathing was hoarse. And then, suddenly, he deflated and visibly calmed down. "Hey... you... you're still alive... that's... that's good... I guess. Your name's Uriel, right? Would you... like to eat something?"

I forced a smile and nodded. Antonio wasn't an enemy or a threat. I could even consider him as something of an ally. "Yeah... the food smells good."

I took a seat and sat down beside him. I then reached for a plate and began eating in earnest. The chicken was smoky, succulent, and perfectly seasoned. The vegetables did not taste good, but I ate them anyway, alongside handfuls of rice. Whatever food I'd managed to scrape into my stomach seemed to disappear instantly, burned away into its constituent nutrients by my hungering body. I was ravenous. I needed more. Fortunately, there seemed to be enough food here to feed at least fifty people and it didn't seem like the other Neophytes were keen on eating. More for me, I guess. I needed more food. I blinked and, somehow, all the food that had been on my plate simply wasn't there anymore; I'd eaten all of it. My hands were filled with chicken grease and bits of rice, most of which I then licked off and ate. One of the many things I've learned from living in the streets was that every little morsel counted; even the tiniest bit of food was a godsend that I could not afford to waste. That was especially true now that, despite the whole plate of roasted chicken I just ate - a whole bird at that - I was somehow still hungry. My stomach burned, though not nearly as bad as it had been a few minutes ago.

I kept eating, likely to Antonio's confusion. My fellow Neophyte stared at me as I ate and ate and ate. But, I couldn't stop - not even to regard him or ask him how he was. The food beckoned me. My body forced me Soon enough, a veritable pile of plates were stacked in front of me. By then, my hunger had somewhat abated, even if I was still famished. At the very least, the pain that'd wracked my body was gone. My stomach grumbled, but I didn't think I'd keel over in agony anytime soon. I breathed in and quickly noted the ten plates in front of me and all the chicken bones atop it. I'd never eaten so much food before. And I was still hungry.

"What happened to you, Uriel?" Antonio asked. I turned to him and noted the scant amount of food he'd actually eaten, compared to me. "Did they hurt you? Were you starved? The others and I noticed your absence - yours and Olga's. What happened?"

I paused and blinked. There was no harm in sharing it with him, right? It wasn't as though I was told to keep it a secret anyway. Besides, a part of me wanted to talk about it - a part of me wanted to share the hell that I've been through. "Olga and I we... we wanted to go to the library, but then... the Ice Queen pulled us into... err... into her own world. And... well... we had to survive there as best as we could. We faced monsters and giants, before we found the exit. How long were we gone?"

Antonio shrugged. There was no strength in his movements. Antonio was clearly exhausted. Dark bags lingered under his eyes and cheeks made gaunt by shadows. And yet, a baleful flame burned in his eyes - the will to live. It was a familiar flame. "I don't know. There's no way to tell the time here - no clocks. But you were both gone for a while. I asked the... Lords, but all they said was that you were both preoccupied."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"What happened?" I asked, eyes narrowing as Antonia reached for a glass of clear water and held it to his lips. "And what happened to the others?"

"We were..." Antonio's eyes darkened and everything about him dimmed. There was power to him now. The magic that swirled about him was unlike the magic that'd once swirled around the boy who tried to escape the school. He was stronger. When he spoke, there was no emotion in his voice or his tone. "We were taught to use basic spells - things that don't necessarily have anything to do with out specialization, as the teacher said it. He taught us the Avardum and Akantum spells; the former to control and levitate things, the latter is for pushing things away with a lot of force. What he did not tell us was that performing either spells incorrectly would lead to... broken bones. I broke both my arms ten times before I got Avardum correctly. And then another fifteen times before I got Akantum to work. The others were not so lucky. As punishment for not learning quickly, they were not and still aren't allowed in the Healing Room until someone comes and gets them."

I grimaced at that. I knew the pain of "So... everyone's just in their rooms suffering right now?"

Antonio nodded. "Everyone except that Kyoya guy; he... healed himself somehow."

I nodded. Olga was still in the Healing Room, resting. Antonio was fine, because he was the fastest learner, apparently, and Kyoya had simply used some kind of magical effect to heal his wounds. That meant there were six people who needed saving, six people whose gratitude I could earn, six people I could place under my debt. That was good - very good. After all, I had the means to heal them with Shi Zikia.

Lord Joseph chuckled, "You're already thinking like a Dark Mage, boy; I'm impressed. Relieve them of their pains and they shall be indebted to you. In time, they may even die in your stead. But, having real friends also couldn't hurt. Many of the most powerful Dark Mages in my time were joined by more than just politics."

You might be right about that, but - for now - Olga's the only friend that I have. She's the only one I'd heal for no reward. If I was going to heal them, then I certainly wouldn't do it for free. Or, at the very least, I wouldn't do it if I didn't gain anything from the act. It would cost me some magic to perform Shi Zikia, after all. So, it definitely wasn't costless on my part. However, I desired no monetary compensation from them. I wasn't even sure if the Dark Mages used money to buy things or if they needed to buy anything at all, for that matter. Wealth seemed to come from power in itself - magical and social power, it seemed. Magical power would come with time, experience, and plenty of training. Social power would be something that I'd have to create for myself, starting now.

"I'm going to help them," I said, out loud as I stood up and wiped away the crumbs of food that'd clung onto my face. Antonio nodded and asked no questions.

"Please, Kaede broke both her arms and her shoulders has been awake for... many hours. Sleep is impossible for her." He suddenly said. "I've done my best to console her, but the pain has reached a point where she's just... angry at everything, even me."

"I'll do my best." I replied and forced a weary smile from my lips. "We're all in this together, after all; no one gets left behind or forgotten. I'll do my best to help them."

I stood up, feeling most of my strength from this morning returning to me. I would have to eat even more later; my stomach was still aching and throbbing with a dull, but bearable pain. I then walked up the stairs and stumbled as I stepped forward with a little too much force and nearly launched myself forward. Antonio stood up and rushed to my side. "Are you alright? Can you walk? Do you need help to get up there?"

I shook my head. "I'll be fine. It was just... an accident."

Regardless, Antonio helped me up the stairs and led me straight to Kaede's door, which happened to be right beside Olga's room. Breathing in, I opened the door and walked in. And there I saw Kaede in her bed, writhing and crying in pure agony. She'd soiled herself. I could smell her piss in the air. Her black robes were drenched in sweat and blood and other fluids. Her dark hair was scattered all over her face. Her bloodshot eyes turned towards us, but no words came from her mouth, save for low moans and muffled groans. True to Antonio's words, both of her shoulders and her arms were visibly broken, bending in direction they were not supposed to. She was pale and her breaths were quick and ragged. Gulping, I stepped towards her and gently laid my hand on her exposed forelegs and, there, I let my magic seep out into her. And I saw all the damage that was wrought across her body, all the breaks in her bones, the tears in her muscles and ligaments. If she received no help, then she'd never be able to use her arms ever again; and she would live with the pain her entire life. And then, I understood how best to fix her broken body and how much magic I'd have to use to make sure nothing strange happened to her. I wouldn't want to, after all, try to heal her broken arms only to end up turning said arms into wings or something. "Shi Zikia..."

Magic streamed from me and into her; fortunately, it didn't take much. And, almost immediately, her body healed. Broken bones painfully snapped back into place. Torn and shredded ligaments and cartilage regrown anew. Damaged muscles mending. Kaede screamed and lurched forward, and promptly fell off her bed as I leapt back. Antonio rushed to her side and held her close as she screamed and cried, flailing her now mended arms left and right. I knelt down beside them and laid my hand on Kaede's head. She turned her gaze to me, eyes wide in fear and phantom pains, but otherwise lucid. "Relax... breathe in. I've fixed your broken bones. Think nothing of it; we're all in this together - all of us. Rest now, while I go take care of the others."

"Thank you," She managed to say, rasping. Kaede then breathed in one last time, before falling unconscious in Antonio's arms.

The boy turned to me and nodded. "Thanks for that. I'll take care of her; do what you need to do."

And so, one by one, I healed my fellow Neophytes. They all suffered similar ailments - broken bones, mostly near or around the shoulder area. Though, some took to the pain more than the others. Mending their broken bones, torn ligaments, and shredded muscles was relatively easy. From it, I also learned the fact that Shi Zikia was not, in fact, a healing spell, but one that was meant to cause rapid and grotesque mutations; healing was merely a lucky side-effect that, if timed right, could be reliably repeated. I noted and memorized each of their names: Kaede, Liza, Maria, Kamala, Troy, and Lyn. They would be useful pawns in the future. More importantly, I figured that, by healing them, I was endearing myself to them. And though their eyes were still filled with pain and fear, I could tell that they looked to me with hope and trust. That was good. I needed more bodies in front of me for what was to come.

What was coming? I didn't know. But I'd prefer to face it with most of the Neophytes between me and it.