Countless voices murmuring were silenced as necrotic energy surged through my hand, reducing one of their own to nothing but skin and bones in a blink of an eye. His life force used to fuel my strength, restoring me to how I was.

As the goblin’s corpse fell to the ground, I grabbed his axe midair, turning in my heel and throwing it back at the one standing beside Sarah, embedding it in its skull.

Next, the entire chamber began to screech as goblins mourned their dead, harnessing their anger and turning it into bloodlust.

“Survive!” I yelled, averting my attention toward the incoming blob of necrotic energy blasted toward me. “Shield!”

Protected by the barrier, I watched as the energy gradually dispersed, partially obscuring my vision.

“Incoming!” yelled Jarred, desperately trying to pull the axe out of the goblin while others fell to the ground and crawled backwards.

Having successfully defended against their spell, I dropped the barrier and looked around, noticing a dozen or so charging at us with jagged weapons. Honestly, I expected more but figured many cowered after seeing me use magic.

“Flame Wave,” I chanted, blasting flame from my fingertips and burning a few that got close enough. Others simply stepped back. “Free the others!”

“On it!” Jarred yelled back, but the others lost it.

Panic was quick to spread.

“Zar’ dexasu vintra. . .” Mana gathered around the one holding the book as he prepared to cast another spell at me. And as if that wasn’t enough, an arrow just barely missed me as I was able to dodge last second using Mana Sense.

“Arcane Arrows.” Conjuring three spectral bolts above my head, I sent them flying toward the goblin chanting the spell. However, the two masked goblins next to him were quick to respond with a magical barrier of their own, blocking the projectiles.

“–wadu’sk tak!” he finished casting, causing the mana around him to spread throughout the room. Every charging goblin suddenly started absorbing the energy, becoming faster and looking even more vicious.

Before I knew it, two had already reached me, one going as far as leaping into the air and swinging a sword wildly and the other aiming for my ankles.

Leaping into the air on one leg, I avoided the one slashing at my feet and caught the other with a front kick, crushing the goblin’s chest and sending it flying backwards.

“Levitate.” Lifting the goblin that missed as far up as I could, I let his body drop, splattering him across the stone floor. However, they gave me no time to recover as three or four arrows flew toward me. “Shield.”

Trying to catch my breath as the arrows bounced off, a sudden scream warranted my attention. It was then that I realised how foolish I was.

The goblins were never afraid of my attacks but were simply looking for opportunities, wasting away my energy while surrounding me and my allies, a true gambit.

Other students already struggled to fend for themselves, kicking at the barbed spears goblins used to taunt them. Unfortunately, they created distance, making it harder for me to help from afar.

Dozen more goblins charged toward me, so I grabbed the sword that the one splattered across the ground dropped, bracing for their charge. At least the warlock wasn’t barraging me with spells.

“Thunder Wave.” The shockwave unleashed from the palm of my hand smashed into the goblins, sending most of them tumbling backwards, even snapping a few necks along the way, but some managed to push through, continuing their attack. “Stride.”

Enhancing my speed, I swiftly stepped to the side so as to force them to come at me one at a time, cutting them down mercilessly with swiftness and precision. Their lacklustre swordsmanship stood no chance in such a fight.

But despite things going well for me, Sarah’s screams echoed throughout the chamber as the goblins crackled louder.

“Alexander, save us!” Chloe pleaded, forcing me to look back.

While I knew their odds of survival were low, I never expected to watch as the goblins managed to split Sarah from the others, forcing her to fend for herself. Naturally outnumbering her, one probably got to her before I even turned, stabbing her in the leg as a bunch of them swarmed over her, attempting to tear apart her clothes.

“Comi–” but before I could even alert them that help was on the way, my lack of attention made me too slow to react to the sudden ambush by what I believed was a corpse.

The goblin’s dagger scratched my leg, but I avoided getting maimed. It seemed that the necrotic energy they absorbed prior gave the goblins one last chance to attack even after death if their bodies were even somewhat functional.

Kicking the corpse away, I turned to look at Sarah again, who was in tears as vicious creatures tried their best to get her into a vulnerable position. Without a second to waste, I charged fully prepared to blast them with a spell, but sudden pain coursed through my body as the poison coating the goblin’s weapon kicked in, making my head spin and body feel weak.

That’s when a goblin who stood over Sarah reached for a dagger, planning to stab her in the chest and thus putting an end to her tantrum that made it impossible for them to do anything they pleased, forcing me to make a hard choice.

“Flame Wave,” I chanted.

It was an unforgettable sight, goblins slowly burning to death while Sarah screamed in agony, scorched as I could no longer aim my spell as the poison wreaked havoc. The worst part was I couldn’t end it either, forcing her to endure hellish pain in exchange for potentially saving her life.

Had I stopped, their corpses would’ve likely been reanimated.

“Stop!” Chloe pleaded, not knowing better. The other goblins luckily ran away as fast as they could, avoiding the flames entirely.

It tore me apart seeing Sarah squirming across the ground, desperately trying to crawl away. But every time I tried raising my hand, I nearly lost consciousness.

That was it. I was in hell.

Things got worse right after as an arrow pierced my left shoulder, the pain not quite sinking in straight away. To face the incoming horde, I was forced to drop my spell and rely on Mana Sense as my breathing got heavier and vision blurred to the point where I hardly saw the goblins standing in the back.

Coughing up blood, I extended my hand toward the others and chanted once more, “Levitate!”

In a last-ditch effort to save them, having noticed others grouped around Sarah, I floated up the stone plate atop which they stood, hoping it was strong enough to hold them.

It was, but it was also incredibly straining on my body as I felt my core begin to crack a little. I was upcasting every spell I could, prolonging effects and enhancing the strength.

“Zumba kaju–” I heard the masked goblin chanting again just as a few more goblins were about to reach me.

“Blink.” I faded out of existence, reappearing next to the masked goblin before reaching for his throat, but he was quick on his feet, pulling one of his bodyguards in my way. “Draining Touch.”

I didn’t hesitate to waste him, revitalising through the spell to the point where the immediate symptoms of the poison subsided for a short time, like taking powerful painkillers.

The other bodyguard also tried getting in the way but found his legs swiped right under him before I pinned him to the ground with my foot while yanking out the arrow piercing my shoulder.

“Draining Touch.” Although I didn’t grab hold of him with my bare hand, the spell still worked flawlessly, drawing on the bodyguard’s life force and healing my wound despite being cast through my leg.

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All that was left was the goblin holding the dark tome, which I saw having dozens of transmutation formulas drawn just on the page he held open.

“Da va’k usja!” he chanted, conjuring up a barrier as I grabbed the bodyguard's sword.

“Sword Arts: Crippling Blow!” Crimson mana gathered along the edge, slicing through the fragile barrier and splitting the goblin in half – the tome dropped to the ground.

Every goblin present suddenly went silent, their gazes shifting over to me. Obviously, I had killed their leader, a sin they wouldn’t be willing to forget.

“I see,” I muttered between my breaths, reaching for the tome resting on the ground. “Is this what you want?” I taunted but was immediately met with karma, coughing up blood as the poison started to kick in again. “Fuck. . .”

The silence was deafening, but luckily my levitation spell kept up despite mana freezing eating away at me, chills setting into my bones as I kept pushing past my limits.

That’s when I saw them all charge at once, not a single goblin staying back this time. All I could do was exchange a glance with Jarred before turning to run.

“Blink,” I uttered through a frosty breath as I teleported a few meters away, giving myself a head start before blindly running through the ruins.

It was terrifying, pain kicking in every step of the way while a mindless horde of goblins relentlessly chased after me, firing arrows I could luckily avoid without looking.

Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours as I wandered outside the ruins and into the cursed forest, leaping over hollowed logs and jumping through leafless bushes, even burning past cobwebs. Though eventually, I felt my legs starting to give out; meanwhile, the goblins showed no signs of relenting, hardly slowed by the rough terrain.

Depleted of mana and drained of stamina, I knew there was no point in running anymore, so I held the sword with what little strength I had left and braced for death.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid, but even if it came to my dying breath, I swore to myself to keep struggling to the bitter end. Too bad they had bows.

“Wind Wall!” Alice chanted, summoning powerful gusts of arcane winds around me, scattering the incoming volley before teleporting next to me, grabbing hold of me as I collapsed into her.

The surrounding water grouped together to form a massive wave that came crashing toward the goblins before I heard Penelope yell out my name.

Soon the dozen or so students following behind her began bombarding the goblins with spells, shattering their morale.

“There’s more in the ruins. . .” I muttered, dropping my head on Alice’s shoulder before losing consciousness while gazing into her lulling eyes.

----------------------------------------

“Hmm hm… for love’s touch she yearned; waiting for when her soldier returned. . .”

Alice’s gentle humming woke me from my sleep, the sunlight peering through the window illuminating her golden hair. She stood by the bedside table, readjusting the flowers she had brought.

“Whispered, o’ whispered she did so many times–” she suddenly stopped, and a coy smile appeared as her gaze shyly dropped. “You’re awake.”

Stretching my arms and grunting, I put my hands under the pillow and just looked at her.

“Don’t let me stop you. Could listen to you all day,” I said, taking a deep breath as my stomach still hurt.

Alice kept smiling, pushing her hair behind the ear, enthralling me every time she did so.

“Or we could talk,” she countered, glancing toward me as I lazily turned to face her, though I had my eyes closed.

“Mmm. . .” I moaned, then chuckled. “It’s too early.”

“Mid-day?” Alice laughed, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Still just woke up,” I mumbled, burying my face into the pillow.

“Fine, then just listen.” She started gently caressing my back. “Sorry about yesterday, I–”

“Mm!” I protested by muttering into the pillow, interrupting her while finding the strength to lift my head. “Don’t apologise. If anything, it’s me that messed up.”

Shifting around, I tried catching her gaze, but Alice shied away.

“No? You were just looking out for me while I was too busy being stuck in a bad mood over nothing.” Alice sighed, her smile slowly fading.

“Hey,” I said, reaching forward and booping her nose. She had the cutest look in her eyes as she looked up. “Doesn’t sound like nothing to me. Besides, you weren’t wrong either. ”

“What do you mean?” She looked a bit confused.

“Well. . .” I grunted, slowly pushing myself to sit up against the headboard.

“You shouldn’t be moving,” she warned, leaning over to help me readjust the pillow.

“Eh, I survived worse,” I argued.

“You sure have,” she agreed as we both smiled at my dumb remark. “Let’s not do that again, okay?”

“No promises.” I chuckled, shaking my head before looking into her eyes again. ”Look, as I was saying–” but before I could finish, the doors opened.

It was Ron’s mother, Olivia Arden, a youthful-looking woman in her late fifties and our herbology professor as well as the head nurse in charge of the medical ward. And even though we already had one class with her, there was no mistaking her fiery hair and freckled face, things she and her son had in common other than spirit.

“Ah, Alice, you’re here. Good,” Professor Arden said, walking in and putting the satchel hanging around her neck on the workbench across the room. “Would you be a dear and help me mix up these herbs?”

“Of course, Professor,” Alice said, glancing over at me once more before gracefully standing up and waltzing over to her.

“You know, Alex, you should pay close attention to how she does things in class. A real talent this one,” Professor Arden praised proudly, and rightfully so. “Too bad she refuses to be my assistant during class.”

“Wouldn’t call it a talent, Professor. I just had a good head start.” Alice smiled with a hint of embarrassment shown on her cheeks, her fair skin doing little to help hide it. “It’s probably best you consider someone else for it to be fair.”

“Nonsense, child.” She chuckled, a kind smile etched on her face as she approached Alice, cupping her hands gently. “The knowledge you carry was earned through hard work, and it makes up for the lack of experience you have here at Grimhold, making you the perfect choice. No one would question it. As for your talent, hands gentle as this are a talent of their own, and so is the heart beating inside you.” Professor Arden glanced over at the flowers atop the bedside table and then at me.

I couldn’t stop smiling hearing Alice being praised.

“I. . . I’m not sure what to say,” Alice nervously chuckled, barely making eye contact. “Thank you for the praise, but I’m just–”

“Am I being too insistent while perhaps it’s not something you’re interested in, or has some other professor’s apprenticeship caught your interest already?”

“No, no. . . nothing like that. I doubt other professors even gave it a thought,” she argued, clasping her hands together as Professor Arden let go. “Even I haven’t given it any thought.”

“Too bad. You’d get to hang out with some of the seniors during the school trip,” she said.

“But we’re suspended till after the trip,” Alice explained, though I was confident Professor Arden knew that, all things considered.

“Yes, that’s true. You wouldn’t be going as a student.” She paused with a sly grin on her face. “But you would get to go as my assistant.”

“Really?” Alice asked. Even her ears wiggled a bit before she stopped to think, turning back to me. “But what about Alex? I wouldn’t want to go without him.”

“Let me worry about that,” I interrupted, hoping to dispel her hesitance if I was the only thing stopping her. “Plenty of time left to figure something out. Might talk to Professor Geron about it.”

“And Alice,” Professor Arden called out to her, stealing our attention. “If a chance presents itself, I won’t have any qualms with you switching or even having a dual apprenticeship. Don’t let that stand in your way if this is something that might interest you.”

“But I’d be taking someone else’s spot based on a whim,” Alice said, dropping her gaze to think.

“Then how about a compromise?” I asked, piquing their interest.

“Do you have something specific in mind?” Professor Arden asked.

“Well, it’s apparent that you want Alice to be your apprentice, but she’s unsure if she’s the right choice. So how about giving it a trial run?”

“A trial run?” Alice furrowed her brows.

“Yeah, just until right after the trip, during which you’ll come to a decision. Professor Arden will get the help she wants, and you would’ve gained new experiences,” I suggested.

“It would also grant you the right to go on the trip while giving me enough time to coax you into staying,” Professor Arden half-jokingly chuckled.

“And you said it yourself, not many professors gave much through to apprenticeship just yet, so you wouldn’t be stealing anything if it’s only for a few weeks at best,” I added before she mentioned something similar again.

“Alright, alright. I get it.” Alice sighed, shaking her head. “May I catch my breath, please?”

Professor Arden and I giggled.

“Right. How about we go back to making this mixture for Alex, and the two of you can talk about it later?” She turned back to the workbench. “It’s not as if I must have the answer straight away, but I advise you to come up with one before the trip.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Alice said, smiling to herself.

“Olivia,” Professor Arden corrected her. “From now, refer to me by name.”

“I don’t think I can, Professor.” Alice awkwardly chuckled, which was funny considering how she barged into her mother’s office all the time.

“Get used to it,” she said, glancing at me. “You too, Alexander.”

“I’ll agree only if you call me Alex instead of Alexander. Feels like I’m in trouble otherwise,” I chuckled.

“Alexander,” she furrowed her brows menacingly, a motherly gaze.

“I yield,” I said, raising my hands utterly beaten.

My stomach growled as I hadn’t eaten in a long time, making everyone laugh for a bit before they finally went back to making the mixture for me.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.