Chapter 5: Mageia (2)

"Kiek, kiek..."

A gentle rustling sound disturbed my attention while I was looking at the stars in the night sky.

"Everyone, here's the food!" The teacher said with a smile. He looked so calm. Maybe because the sound of the sea is melodic and the freezing air was therapy. Even the others looked sound and relaxed.

"Eat now."

"Teacher, did someone join you to get the food?" Eissen said while searching for something at the teacher's back. I looked at his back while smiling, thinking it was a silly prank pulled by the kids to scare the teacher... but a silhouette, not of a human, appeared behind him.

"You won't scare me with those joke-" The teacher smirked while looking at the kids' faces.

"Teacher, behind you!" A spear was thrust exactly when the teacher bent.

The kids then screamed and went rampant, scattering over, and away from the teacher.

"What's that?" My eyes dilated in shock seeing a green ugly figure. Its eyes were almost popped off its place, its long ears, and its swampy-like skin color.

"Get away! It's a goblin!" The teacher screamed. "B-b-be careful, they don't go individually!"

"Kiek..." Goblins appeared right behind the unlit bushes in the forest.

"Gather here, everyone!" I alerted.

Even though the teacher is here, my legs won't rest easy. It's trembling. Like I was shivering in the middle of a snowy mountain. I looked at Ei and the children and they were all shaking in fear as well. Their faces went pale in fear.

Sharp thrusts of the spear can be heard from every side.

"H-he-help me, Exi..." Phoenia pleaded while the Goblin slowly pierced her leg thigh's skin. "Help me." Everyone cried, except me and Exi, everyone was praying for a savior.

I looked at my legs, still shaken by the weird appearance of these monstrosities. I tried to move an inch of my leg and it felt like it was forced to stay still. "I need to help them. M-move!" I cried while begging my leg to move, I looked back and forth and blood covered the greenery of the grass.

"M-move!" My sweat dropped heavily, it looked like the rain poured just on my head.

The ground rattled violently, but I wasn't shocked, rather I was still and unfazed by the rocks trembling in intensity. I witnessed the goblins fall through a small pit created by the intensity.

The teacher looked at me with worry.

"Don't hurt us!" I said provocatively while baring my teeth to the goblins. Before they could even run... the unknown force stole their lives in the end. The goblins were crushed until blood came out of their mouths. "Finally..." I looked at the teacher with ease and suddenly, I fell to the ground.

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"Ouch!" I strongly shouted in pain.

"Exi, are you awake?" Someone asked worriedly through the door. They knocked quite a few times, asking for permission to enter but I ignored them. I tried to move sideward to ponder about the training when suddenly, my muscles contracted. "Argh!"

I suddenly went up with no hesitation finding no one in the cabin other than me. The door was locked, medicine sat beside the chair beside the bed I was sleeping in, and the wooden floor was stained with blood. "What's ha-" My body ached.

My body fell back to the bed and a loud thud was emitted.

"Wha- what's happening?" The professor nervously rattled slamming the door of the cabin. I looked at his face and he looked like he had no rest for a whole week.

"Huff... huff..." He walked towards me seriously while heavily gasping for air. He raised both of his arms like he was planning to punch me. "Wha- what, I didn't d-" I tried to raise both of my arms in defense.

But oppositely, it was not a smack or a punch, but a hug. "I-I'm glad you woke up, it has been a long week of waiting for your eyes to open up." The teacher said while crying, gasping for more air. He sounded like a kid crying for something he can't get. Though, I smiled. The teacher looks at us like his own kids, and this warmth was something of a real parent.

'I feel sheltered.' I said while looking at the professor's back. I hugged him back, comforting him. "I'm fine, teacher." I smiled.

But my smile faded when unexpectedly, he smacked my head.

"You are not." He swept his tears with his clothing while wearing an angry face. "Rest there. Your figure should not leave this cabin for this day, or else... I'll punch you!" He continued while walking out.

I smiled at his silhouette once again.

When I was about to rest and daydream about the situation, a surge of aether infested my body wildly, like it was covering my existence with a scorching fire rather than a scarlet fire. The aether is black.

My body is heating up, and with the increasing aether surrounding my body, I felt hot like I had caught a fever. "Ah!" I groaned while I squeeze my chest in pain.

"Huff..." I groaned and groaned. "What is this?" And once again, I collapsed.

Looking at my unorganized pillow and blanket made out of sheep's wool, I guessed that the teacher nor anyone has looked out for me the time I collapsed.

'Lucky, lucky.' I calmed myself down before moving.

"What just... happened? My body feels lighter." I said while looking at my arms and legs, checking if something drastically changed physically.

Swoosh!

A gust is slowly forming in front of me. I took a step back, cautiously examining if the gust is a threat or a friend. 'Idiot, who would friend a gust?' I mocked myself.

I looked at it without blinking or missing a chance to see what will unfold in front of me. When suddenly, the book, that named itself after me appeared out of nowhere.

I held the book and touched the name that was carved on its cover. I flipped through the first page of the book and a paragraph was written in it.

'Ask the book and the book will tell.'

"Huh." I looked at the blank pages. "Are you serious, is this a joke?" I looked at the book like it was a fraud.

But, I still gave it a try. "Okay."

"What is your name?" I asked.

The book wrote did not write something.

'I guess it doesn't have any.'

"Then, I'll call you... hmm?" I dwelled on a name. "How about Scire?"

"I'll go with that, it sounds cool!" I proudly said.

"Well, Scire, what happened to me a while ago?"

The once-blank paper was turned into a book full of writings. Although I have never seen them before, I could read them. It was as if the book had given me the ability to know the answers.

'Your Aether Matrix expanded by two folds. Aether Matrix expansion happens when aether is used efficiently to kill monsters, known as the Others. For every Other, an amount of aether is given -- which expands your own Aether count.'

"Ah! But, expansion hurts that much?" I frowned in fear of its concept. "Thank you, Scire."

"Ah, right! How can I make you appear and disappear?"

'Call me by the name you gave and I will come.' It wrote.

"How about making you disappear? The teacher and other children might see me using a strange book and question it."

'I can be invisible.' It wrote while suddenly disappearing mid-air.

"Woahhh!"

"Exi?" Ei looked at me with a disturbed face. "Who are you talking to?"

"Huh?" I looked at her surprised. I did not even see or hear her entering the room.

"Have you gone crazy now?" She continued. She went near me and shook my head back and forth, left to right thrice consecutively. "Now, have you come back to your senses?"

"I'm sane," I said with my messy hair and face. "Sane your face." She uttered.

"Oh right, why have you come here?" I looked at her while hiding the mark I have my mind.

"I'm here to see you, but I think I will be out to look after the other children."

"Ah. Thank you for visiting, Ei. You don't need to worry, I am really fine." I raised my hand trying to show off my muscles to her.

"Tsk, tsk. You're totally skinny, what's there to show." She looked at me displeased.

"Why are you so mean?" I looked at her with annoyed eyes.

"I am not. I am just provocative." Knowing Ei, she has always been this mature despite our age difference of a year. She has always been acting like she was older than me.

I smiled at her with contentment and bid her goodbye. "Well, you should go now. Don't prolong her further, you know how fine I am."

"Fine, fine."

"It's not like I can do anything about that play-it-cool attitude." She laughed. "Just rest well, Exi."

"Yes." I relaxed my shoulder, lying my back on the bed. I closed my eyes and waited for the sun to rise once again.

Seconds, minutes, and hours passed by. Another day starts.

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