After thunder comes rain

In the otherwise empty infirmary laid a small, young man in one of the many hospital beds. With his body hooked up to a machine monitoring his vital functions at his side, he wore an impossibly innocent expression. Slightly illuminated by the window clattered with raindrops next to the bed, his face could be seen sleeping. Framed by his jet-black hair and slightly chubby cheeks, his mouth was gently breathing in the warm air.

Standing in front of the bed were two very different men. One of them had large stature, dark hair, and was clad in a black suit, while the other was a bit shorter and looked like a gentle grandfather robed in white.

*Beep, Beep, Beep...*

After a few seconds of listening to the beep from the machine, Mike broke the silence.

"Did you know this would happen..."

Mike turned his head to the white-haired elder, who met his gaze with a bit of sorrow in his eyes.

"No. Although I sometimes get to see clear images from the future, most of the time I only get ingrained with a 'knowing' of something. I didn't know how it would play out, I just got imbued with 'knowing' this was necessary to see his true potential."

*Beep*

The principal rotated his vision to look at the small boy, covering the sounds of the machine with his words.

"If I knew this would happen, I would have been present as well. That being said, I think it was the correct thing to do. By creating a situation where he would get cornered, not physically but mentally, by his own insecurities, we got to see his true potential."

After giving a gentle glance of affection at Miren, he turned away and started walking towards the exit of the infirmary. Stopping, he gave some comforting words to the guilt-ridden Mike.

"Remember, you don't have to harass him anymore. I know it must have been hard for you, with your personality and all, to act like you despised the little hare. Even though I still want him to develop on his own, you can blame me for what happened when he wakes up and support him as you see fit."

With those words, he left the room, leaving Mike behind still looking at Miren with a complicated expression.

Suddenly the boy started waking up. While sleepily rubbing his eyes, he let out a questioning sound as he sat up.

"Mmmm...?"

Looking around the room he looked like he was lost, with a confused expression on his face.

"Hmmm...! Where am I?!"

{Change of POV}

Realizing I had woken up in an unfamiliar space I had sat up in the bed and shouted. The familiar scent of a hospital entered my nose, only to be confirmed by a beeping machine at my side. Suddenly a sharp pain gouged my chest.

"Urgh!"

While grabbing my chest in pain, I tried to figure out what could have happened for me to be hospitalized, as well as why it felt like my body was in pieces.

'I passed out, didn't I? Guess my first impression will cement the fact that not only am I physically weak, but also mentally weak in my classmates.'

*Cough*

Raising my head to the sudden sound, I could see the biggest contributor to my current condition. In front of me stood the large gorilla, who had harassed me throughout the whole day I passed out.

'Are you still not done you fucking monkey?!'

Thinking I would not even get a day to rest before getting another serving of knives stuck into my fragile mental, I couldn't help but scowl. To my surprise, Mike instead held a weird expression and spoke with honey-coated words.

"So, how are you feeling? Do you need me to get you something? There is a vending machine just outside so maybe you want something to drink or something to eat?"

*Beep*

*Beep*

....

'What is up with Mike? Didn't he hate me so much he made me pass out from a panic attack not too long ago? Maybe he got scolded by the principal or something...'

As I was trying to sort out my complicated thoughts, he once more conversed gently.

"Oh sorry lad, I shouldn't have talked so much when you just woke up. I just wanted to know your body's condition."

With a gentle smile, he once again spouted some sugary words. Not wanting to have to be around the gorilla any longer than needed, I spat out an answer.

"I can't remember much from what happened, and my body hurts like hell, but other than taht I think I'm fine."

My mind wandered to the memories of the blackness, the purple me, and the sensation of the endless surge of power.

'Was it real? Is that really my strength? Even if that purple mass was my lightning affinity, it should have no relation to the strength of my mana. Is there something else at play here? It seems like I must spend some time figuring my body out later...'

Mike's expression crumbled. Clad in unmistakable guilt, his smile turned into a frown and he deeply bowed to me.

"I'm sorry! Although it was the principal's orders it was my fault this happened!"

"Huh?"

'Did he just say it was the principal's orders? Am I hated by the principal? No, it was he who forced me to attend, so there must have been another reason...

Taking my synapses out for a ride, I quickly arrived at the right conclusion. It was a godsend that my brain was able to create multiple parallel conjectures in a heartbeat.

"So you mean to say that the principal ordered for you to harass me? Drawing from that, does that mean he knew something would happen if I was pressured enough?

As if trying to not expose the truth the big man froze. Mike stared at me with big eyes, seemingly trying to understand how I was able to come to the correct conclusion, with only flawed bits of information, in a matter of seconds. He looked as if he was witnessing the birth of a genius.

'Looking back at it, that must have been it. There was no reason for the gorilla to intentionally create a hostile relationship with me all of a sudden. Was this also the reason Mike wouldn't help me practice my dagger arts? Did they want to situate me in as harsh of a situation as possible?'

Continuing my thinking, a mental picture was being painted in real-time, as my brain continued to draw upon further conclusions.

'That means the principal believes there is some sort of hidden ability inside of me. Although having only the lightning-affinity, without the corresponding basic elements, should be extremely rare, I don't think that would be enough of a reason to torment a student. No, it must have had something to do with the surge of power I felt as I fused with my purple clone.'

In order to get some kind of answer from the frozen primate, I asked a more relevant question.

"So what happened after I passed out?"

With a nervous expression, Mike started lying about what had expired. Apparently, I had just recorded my status and then suddenly fainted when hearing the other students' comments. Then he, supposedly, carried me to the infirmary, and I was out for a whole 24 hours until now. With today being the day after, I should have missed an entire day of academy studies, but because there had been some administrative issue we would instead start our real courses tomorrow.

Mike didn't seem to be all too proficient at lying. Large streams of sweat poured from his forehead, and he nervously fidgeted with his hands. In fact, during several occasions of him telling the story, he had diverted his eyes from me, just to try to keep his calm.

'Administrative issues at the elite academy of Kirkegaard? That can't be the truth, now can it? I don't think he would tell me the truth, no matter what, so I guess I'll have to try to figure it out for myself later. I'll just have to ask James or something. From what I remember, he was the only one who seemed to be accepting of my faulty status.'

"Will I also attend lessons tomorrow then? I don't know if I am fit for fight right now, you know?"

Straightening his back with a brightened face Mike responded, proudly thinking I believed his shitty lies.

"Oh! No, as tomorrow is Friday, it was decided to just have homeroom for you to choose your general theory classes and specialized combat courses. We will also be talking a bit about the different facilities you will have access to, like how to use the time chamber and how you make trades with the production section in order to get your artifacts made."

Tilting his head, he seemed to have remembered something. He brought out a purple box with red and green tribal markings, and gave it to me.

"Right, I almost forgot. The principal wanted to gift you these. He said it would be too unfair for a student of the A-class not to have any real weapons. While training you can continue to use the practice daggers I gave you, but as you are going to go on dungeon dives and expeditions in the future you need a real weapon."

Opening the box, I was met by a pair of beautiful-looking daggers. Just like the box, they were purple, with one having red engravings and the other green. Holding them in my hands I couldn't help but be in awe of the craftsmanship.

The blade with red engravings had a sharp and destructive design, a bit larger than most daggers. Accompanying its size, it was a bit heavier than the other, making it perfect for my dominant hand. Red flames were engraved on the purple base, symbolizing the fire part of the lightning element.

Correspondingly, the green adorned dagger had a more flowing and modest design, being more akin to a dirk. With its lighter weight, I assumed it would be for my left hand, making for lighter but swift attacks. Contrasting the other blade, it had green winds engraved on it, symbolizing the other element needed to conjure lightning.

"Miren!"

Before I had a chance to inspect them closer, to read their detailed information, I was interrupted by a familiar voice.

A tall, blonde man was quickly making his way towards my bed while loudly talking to me.

"Miren! Are you alright man? The nurse just sent me a message on my DAD that you were awake, so I came over as quickly as I could!"

Looking up at the glowing young hero of mankind, I couldn't help but feel exhausted.

*Beep*

'It seems like the knight in shining armor has arrived...'