My room felt empty and boring, so I was glad to vacate it in the morning. It felt claustrophobic, like I was a toy being packed away in a box when not in use. I missed Kira’s homely tavern, and Brick and Bruiser’s company. Heck, I’d even settle for Bastion glaring at me as I buttered my scones.
When I saw Nightfall coming out of his room at the same time as I left mine, it was like greeting an old friend.
“Sleep well?” I asked him cheerfully.
“The same as always,” he answered disinterestedly. He was wearing a thoughtful frown again, and I made it my challenge for the day to make him smile again. He always looked so carefully neutral, like a calm lake, but when the waters stirred, I could see a force to be reckoned with lying just beneath and it made my heart race.
We walked side by side back to the classroom to hand our assignments over to Professor Prindous.
“Here you go, Professor Pompous,” I grinned, handing over my bogus assignment. I saw Nightfall’s expression twitch as I purposefully mispronounced his name. Prindous made no indication that he’d heard me, however, and accepted the papers with his many-fingered hands.
Soon we were seated and listening to another dull lecture. It was our final one and we only had to perform a basic healing spell on an injured lab-rat to pass. Prindous showed us the spell, which we both performed without any difficulty, and then the class abruptly ended.
ACHIEVEMENT!
MITSY ACHIEVED A DEGREE IN HEALING!
+2 INTELLIGENCE = 7/20 INT
ABILITY UNLOCKED: FIRST AID
+15%/s to all healing abilities.
“Noice!” I pumped my fist. “Well, that’s the easiest course I’ve ever done. Should we go knock the first Potions class off as well before lunch?”
“Thank you,” Nightfall said, grabbing my arm before I could walk down the hall. “For that last assignment. I would not have been able to complete it without you.”
I grinned at him, and linked my elbow with his, pulling him along with me. I was keen to get these courses done as soon as possible so I could get back to Brick and Bruiser.
We stepped into the classroom and a tall high elf wearing a witchy costume greeted us with dramatic flair, introducing herself as Professor Withernewt.
“Welcome to Potions, but beware: In this class you will not only learn the properties of all ingredients, both natural and artificially made, but the secrets of transforming them into brews powerful enough to save or end a life! One mistake is the difference between this world and the next. Such complexity and risk are not for the faint of heart. Do you have the courage to proceed?”
“Yes,” Nightfall answered seriously, letting the somber moment wash over him.
I recognized that this teacher also addressed the room and not us as individuals, however, and I was pretty sure as long as I answered in the affirmative it wouldn’t matter what I said or did.
I picked a chair to sit in and slung my feet up on the table, slamming on my Adorkable Glasses and gave the teacher a cheeky greeting. “Educate me, baby!”
Nightfall gave me a scandalized look, but as the teacher started with her lecture as though we weren’t there, he took a seat next to me.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his eyes on me and not Professor Withernewt.
I smirked at him and pulled out James’ notebook, flicking through the contents and taking half-hearted notes whenever Withernewt mentioned something I didn’t already know. Bruiser had covered many of the herbs that she rambled on about, but her explanations were a lot more flowery and vague than the practical information Bruiser had given me on the road.
I saw Nightfall taking the odd note as well, between glances at me, but eventually he gave up on listening altogether and slid his chair next to mine to read over my shoulder.
“Where did you get this?”
“It was on a shelf in the library,” I explained, but refrained from telling him what it was. “Have you seen it before?”
“I can’t say I have, but I usually am in the library looking for particular tomes. I don’t even know what this is,” he said, fingering the spiral binding.
He looked at the pictures, intrigued, but then shook his head. “It looks like the pictures you drew on your notes yesterday. Perhaps it belonged to another student.”
I made a noncommittal noise at the back of my throat, already knowing he was wrong.
“…Scabby-grow of course, would be lethal if taken orally and is only to be applied topically to wounds,” I jerked my head up to listen in alarm as Professor Withernewt described in terrible detail exactly what would go wrong. I felt ill, remembering how I’d almost made this exact mistake with Bastion the day I met him. I could have sentenced him to an excruciatingly painful death.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Feeling humbled, I slipped the notebook back into my bag and listened a little more attentively until class ended. I did learn a few new things after all, like how mana potions took a little time to work and would leave you feeling raw and overtired if you used too many in a row. Apparently, just like trying to run on energy drinks in the real world, there was a point when nothing healed you better than a long and peaceful sleep.
Our assignment after class was to gather ingredients from the student stores and brew a basic blood replenisher potion. We decided to eat lunch first, but Nightfall refused to live on cinnamon rolls and took me to the student cafeteria, which was surprisingly bustling. I’d expected there to be fewer students considering our empty classes, but perhaps they just all hung out in the common areas.
I spotted Jackal flirting with a high elf, but it appeared she turned him down as well. He sulked for a moment, before searching out another human. This time he seemed to be successful, joining her table. I frowned, thinking of his past. Knowing what I did about him now, he looked a bit like a lonely puppy, looking for approval and love, albeit in all the wrong places.
Nightfall nudged me into the line to get food and my fingers twitched when his hand brushed mine. Again, they were icy cold, and I couldn’t help but think about what Prindous had said about a dark elf having cold blood. So much of his lecture was garbage, but perhaps there was some truth to that part.
The woman behind the counter slopped a serving of steaming stew into a bowl for each of us and we found ourselves a seat. I sniffed mine hesitantly, remembering Bruiser’s warning about stews made with spoiled meat back at Isekai, but Nightfall was already savouring his and he’d failed to keel over so I took a bite as well.
“Well, it’s no cinnamon roll, but it’s okay,” I commented. “Hearty.”
“Sweets are for snacks,” Nightfall said, shaking his head at me. “There is nothing like hot food for a main meal.”
“Nightfall,” a voice growled from behind me, and I looked around to see an angry looking feliskin approach. “Is your research finished yet?”
“Not yet, Blade. These things take time,” Nightfall said calmly. “I will need another sample from you to analyze.”
“Another?”
“They need to be fresh.”
“And yet you are here, playing with your girlfriend. You should be in the lab, seeking answers!”
The cat-person, Balde, hissed angrily. His lips curled back to reveal razor sharp teeth. He looked like Grumpy Cat had gone through steroid treatment and decided to become a steampunk pirate, complete with an aviator hat that concealed his ears.
“Move along, Blade,” Nightfall sneered at him. “Without me, you get no answers at all. I work at my own pace and according to my own will.”
“Spoken like a dark elf,” Blade glowered. “I better not find you’ve been using my blood for necromantic magic, or I’ll carve out your heart.”
They gave each other another long stare before Blade sauntered off and joined the queue for food.
“He was charming,” I commented neutrally.
“Another of my test subjects,” Nightfall murmured. “But we should not speak of it here. I will discuss it with you I the laboratory, when I take a sample of your own blood.”
I pressed my lips together but said nothing. I hadn’t exactly agreed to be one of Nightfall’s experiments, but he was proving extraordinarily useful in getting around campus, so I didn’t want to shoot myself in the foot by starting an argument with him now.
We finished our meal and headed towards the potion laboratory together, Nightfall leading the way with a confidence I envied. I doubted I would be able to retrace my steps if my life depended on it.
Maybe I should be leaving a trail of cinnamon roll crumbs like Hansel and Gretel.
Before we entered the lab, Bonaparte skittered down the purple slate roofing and landed in front of Nightfall, chirruping and squeaking at him. Nightfall seemed to understand what he was saying and spoke back to the dire-weasel in a series of chirrups that looked seriously misplaced coming from his lips.
“You can talk to him?” I asked, curious. So far, I’d only seen Bruiser communicate to animals, but it felt rather natural for him since he was kind of part animal himself.
“Yes, Animal Speak is an ability which is available to elves of all kinds to learn,” Nightfall said, straightening up and looking back at me. “Bonaparte is doing a wellness check on behalf of Bruiser. He brings the message that you should remain in student accommodation and study with haste.”
“Oh,” I blinked. I was kind of looking forward to seeing him again, although I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to find my way to and from the university… And I wanted to get his opinion on the notebook I’d found as well. But if he said I should stay and focus, I’d better stay and focus. I might be able to connect all the dots myself once my brain fog cleared up and I could think a little clearer.
Bonaparte approached me, standing on his hind legs and sniffing me curiously.
“Hey Bonaparte,” I said, giving him a scratch behind the ear. He rewarded me with a happy wheeze that smelled strongly of fish.
“If you tell him you are well, he will be on his way,” Nightfall said, giving me another of his odd looks. “You are well, aren’t you?”
“Oh. I’m well,” I said. “Tell Bruiser I miss him and Brick terribly.”
Bonaparte nodded and leapt back up the wall, skittering out of sight with a scrabbling sound of claws on slate.
“Do you not get along with Bastion?” Nightfall asked, still watching me curiously.
“What?” I blinked. “What do you mean?”
“You said you missed Bruiser and Brick. Bastion is with them unless I am mistaken. It seems an odd exclusion.”
“Oh,” I said, blushing. “Ah… Brick said to not mention it to others, but since you’re on his team I guess I can tell you, right? You’re not going to spread it around?”
He opened the door to the potions laboratory and ushered me in, closing it behind us.
“What you tell me in confidence I will keep in confidence,” Nightfall promised.
“I’m in a relationship with both of them,” I said. It was easier to just get it all out at once. “Bruiser and Brick. Not Bastion. Bastion… doesn’t exactly approve.”
“I can imagine he wouldn’t,” Nightfall snorted derisively. “But an orc? You’re involved with an orc?”
“His race hardly matters to me,” I shrugged. “I like Brick because he’s Brick, not because he is or isn’t an orc. It’s almost… irrelevant.”
Nightfall studied me closely, before nodding and stepping back. “You are a curious creature. But enough, we must brew.”