Crack

BOOM!

When Alec pushed on the ground with all his strength, he kicked off a good chunk of dirt from the ground. He was launched forward at an incredible speed, so fast that he actually lost control of his body momentarily.

As his body's velocity increased so suddenly, the inert air molecules on his way were pushed away at incredible speeds, causing a shockwave. Although nowhere near a sonic boom, it was still a considerable disturbance, enough that many people in the training ground would look over.

By the time Alec could stop himself, he had already traveled 100 meters. It wasn't pure luck that he didn't collide with anyone on the way. He had carefully chosen his path before dashing. After all, considering how high his normal speed was, if he had collided with anyone, the person on the receiving end would have broken most of the bones in their body. Even Alec himself wouldn't be unscathed from such a collision.

'I wonder how hard it would be to make a power armor using magic?' he couldn't help but think. After finally gathering his bearings, he turned around to look at Edward. The student council president was sitting on the ground, probably having fallen down because of the sudden shockwave caused by Alec. Seeing the exasperated expression on his face, Alec walked up to Edward's side. He reached out a hand and helped him up before apologizing.

"Sorry for that... I didn't think it would be that effective," Alec said. Edward patted his uniform to shake the dust off and made sure he was clean before responding.

"It's okay. Though, do be aware of your prowess, okay? What you just did is..." he said before his voice trailed off. "...Absurd. And you should've known it would happen. Especially if even I could guess it."

"Yeah..." Alec muttered. Just before he was about to back off, he noticed an awkward lump on Edward's arm. If not for the fact that he had held his arm to help him get up, he wouldn't have noticed its existence. In turn, that realization caused alarm sirens to go off inside his head. The mana brain seemed almost as clueless, however, it still told him to pursue the matter. "That thing on your arm..."

"What?" Edward asked. Following Alec's gaze, he looked down at his forearm for a good few seconds before raising his brow. "What do you mean? There is nothing there..."

Seeing that he was incapable of answering, Alec quickly reached into his sleeve and found the hidden compartment. Feeling with his fingers, he held onto the piece of incense and brought it out before lighting it up. His nostrils flared in response to the bittersweet smell. Still, he didn't stop there. Bringing the incense closer, he took a hefty sniff of the thing before finally placing it into his wrist compartment. The thing was still lit, so the smoke coming off of it was trailing up toward his nose non-stop.

Feeling the dizzying change in his perception, Alec took one more look at the lump. This time, it seemed more sinister. There seemed to be hair growing out of it. When he looked closer, Alec could even spot some blood vessels constantly sucking blood from Edward's circulation.

With a frown, Alec grabbed Edward's wrist with one hand while touching the lump with the other.

"This."

"Oh. How could I miss that?" Edward muttered. "Thank you for pointing it out. I will get it checked out in the future."

"No. We are going right now, together," Alec said while looking deep into his eyes. Under Alec's overbearing demeanor, Edward buckled and finally agreed.

"Sure... If you say so."

Without wasting any time, Alec took him to one of the few professors he knew specializing in life magic. A professor called Emma Fraser. He had taken one of her alchemy classes before but hadn't interacted much.

They had become mainly acquainted through Alyssa Fraser, the girl who had sold him alchemy supplies at exorbitant prices. Apparently, Professor Emma was her grandmother. They had come across each other while Alec was passing by and had a little chat. The woman was very friendly and didn't have an oppressing aura like most other professors, the reason probably being her relatively low level. As for why Alec assumed her to be low-level, it was her elderly appearance. After all, once people reached a certain level, their physical aging would slow down.

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The woman would usually hang around the alchemy shop, helping Alyssa tend to the place. Although Alec wasn't exactly aware of her schedule, it was fine anyway. He could always ask Alyssa for help, after all.

After a quick jog through the academy grounds, the duo reached the cute little store. Alec pushed the door open, causing the chime to ring pleasantly. Shortly after, Alyssa came out of the backroom with a smile on her face.

"Alec!" She said happily. 'My last few tries in getting Alec to buy some unnecessary stuff didn't go very well. Hopefully this time, I will be able to swindle him,' Alec imagined her thinking. Still, he didn't show his contempt on his face, instead displaying a worried frown. "Oh... Isn't that the student council president? It's nice to see you come along... I guess..."

"I'm sorry Alyssa. We don't really have the time for pleasantries," Alec said. He subconsciously looked at his wrist to make sure there was still smoke coming out before continuing. "Is Professor Emma around here?"

"Granny? She is in the back room, dealing with some record stuff," she said. "If it's something urgent I can call her over."

"That would be beautiful," Alec said while making sure to not forget about the lump on Edward's arm. While his main brain was busy talking and walking, the mana brain was constantly recycling the thought, making sure it didn't disappear.

"Sure then, I will call her over," Alyssa said before turning around and entering through one of the doors and disappearing. Alec and Edward waited in an awkward silence. While Edward hummed what Alec presumed to be a hymn, Alec himself kept his focus on Edward's arm.

Shortly after, the door opened and the elderly woman appeared alongside Alyssa. She walked over with a worried expression and looked at Alec.

"What happened Mr. Alec? This is the first time I have seen you this restless," she said.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you out of nowhere," Alec apologized sincerely. "However, my friend over here seems to have a weird lump growing on his forearm. We couldn't understand what it was and wanted to ask someone..."

The woman walked closer and raised her hand to grab Edward's wrist. Then, a magic circle appeared in front of her eye. She closed in slightly and started inspecting the lump from every direction, occasionally tapping on certain parts. Then, in a swift motion, brought her finger down and made an incredibly small incision using a spell unknown to Alec.

From inside, pus and greenish blood slipped out, causing blisters and pimples to grow on Edward's skin wherever it touched. The student council president winced in pain as a terrified expression appeared on his face. With an ugly frown, Professor Emma incinerated the toxic material before sewing shut the incision.

"Come with me," she said, her demeanor changing from that of a friendly old woman to that of an authoritative elite. Without further ado, Alec nodded toward Alyssa and followed the woman with Edward in tow. They passed through a normal, featureless room before heading down some stairs. The stairs creaked under their weight, causing Alec to think whether or not it would hold.

Still, they managed to descend about twenty steps before walking through some underground corridors. Finally, the woman ushered them into a room and looked around carefully before closing the door.

"That thing on your arm is bad news, young man," she said while making Edward sit down. Alec stood in a further corner of the room so as to not disturb the professor, but still kept his attention.

"First of all, are you comfortable with Mr. Alec being here?" she asked just to make sure. Alec didn't find it weird or offensive. After all, the patient here was Edward, and had all the right to make him go away.

"No, it's fine," Edward said. His trust in Alec seemed solid.

"Alright. Then, I want you to listen to me well, okay?" Professor Emma said. Just as she opened his mouth, she made a sudden movement. Three magic circles appeared around her at the same time. Before Alec could even react, they all activated.

One released a simple cutter magic missile and precisely cut off the lump from Edward's arm, severing a couple of large veins and hundreds of capillaries at the same time. The other released a fireball that burnt the puss and infected flesh, and the final one immediately increased Edward's regeneration.

As her movements were so sudden, Edward had a hard time processing the pain for a second. Shortly after, his pupils dilated and the pain finally registered. One hand clutching the sheets, Edward gritted his teeth and kept himself from screaming. The spell quickly regenerated the wounds, taking approximately five minutes before the skin perfectly scabbed.

"Sorry sweetheart, I had to do this quick. Casting healing spells on unconscious people can cause complications and this was the least painful way I could think of," Professor Emma said apologetically.

"I- It's fine," Edward muttered. The sweat drenching him caused Edward's hair to stick to his face, giving him a disheveled look. "But I would like an explanation of what that was."

At his question, the elderly woman gulped loudly and shifted her gaze toward Alec. Looking at him for a couple of seconds, she sighed and started explaining.

"That was demonic taint..."