Chapter 5: The hospital ride

Karl quickly picks Ian up and notices that his breathing is dangerously slow.

'I can't let him die. I'm the only one here. What can I do? Or... what should I do? Run? No. I could be blamed for murder. Fuck.'

Karl forces himself to calm down, grabs Ian's watch, and notices a password. He quickly opens his own watch and navigates to the contacts.

'What's the number for an ambulance? Does it even exist here?'

As he scrolls, he finds a familiar name: Botany Zena (Owes money, avoid her calls).

Without hesitation, Karl dials Zena's number. With each ring, his heart rate spikes. She doesn't pick up.

Karl looks up and sees the sky, pitch black. 'Is she sleeping?' he wonders. Regardless, he dials again. Ian's condition worsens—his fever spikes.

"Hello? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Zena complains groggily.

"Miss Zena, listen-" Karl hurriedly explains the situation.

"Get to the nearest road. I'll be there in five." Zena says abruptly and hangs up.

Karl hoists Ian onto his back. 'What the hell? He shouldn't be more than 100 kilos, but why does he feel so heavy?'

Then it clicks. 'Oh... I'm small now.'

Despite the struggle, Karl manages to reach the road. He checks Ian's condition every few seconds. A minute later, Zena arrives in her car. Karl quickly loads Ian inside and jumps in.

Twenty minutes later, Karl sits outside the academy's hospital, waiting outside the operation theater. Zena sits beside him. A handsome man in his twenties walks out, waving at Zena.

Zena blushes and smiles back. Karl notices but ignores it.

"He's out of danger for now. Still, thank the Horizon you brought him in on time. If you were even a bit later, he would've gone into cardiac arrest." The doctor sighs. "Anyway, I need to inform his parents and file a report." He gives Zena a playful wink before walking off.

Karl ignores them and peeks into the operation theater. Ian lies on a bed, a mask connected to two large cylinders.

"I didn't know you were friends with the Phirsecots, let alone Ian."

Karl flinches at the unexpected voice. "Don't sneak up on me. I've had bad experiences with women sneaking up on me." He turns and starts walking away. "And I just met him this morning."

"This morning? Doesn't look like it to me." Zena smirks. "But I'm glad he finally found a friend."

"Yeah, it was weird at first, but it worked out somehow."

"I'm surprised you didn't believe the rumors about him."

"Y-Yeah…" Zena glances at the door the doctor exited from.

"Sorry to ruin your night." Karl grins mischievously.

"W-What? There's nothing like that!" Zena stammers, blushing.

Karl chuckles. "I'm not blind. Try harder next time." He stands up and heads for the exit.

"I'll kill you if you tell anyone about this!" Zena threatens.

Karl just waves a hand dismissively. Frustrated, Zena watches him disappear down the hall. 'Leonard Avaritia… Were you always this charismatic?'

After an hour of walking, Karl finally reaches his dormitory. Along the way, he experimented with his newly learned magic: [Void Storage]. He named it.

Through trial and error, Karl determines that the storage is theoretically limitless that if he has enough mana. He first stores a small rock, then a medium-sized branch. When he tries to store an entire bench, he fails, collapsing from exhaustion. After a ten-minute break, he tries again and succeeds.

Now, he has five things stored: three rocks, one branch, and an entire bench. The best part? He doesn't feel their weight at all. Mana is only required for entry and exit.

Before heading into his dorm, Karl places the bench back in its original spot. He climbs the stairs, whistling the last song he heard.

'Crazy... This ability is too broken. But now the real question, can I store living things?'

Suddenly, he halts. Every hair on his body stands on end. A faint whimpering sound reaches his ears. Someone is crying.

Karl cautiously moves forward. The sound grows louder as he reaches his floor. Turning the corner, he spots a large figure in dirty clothes, sitting just below his room.

'Damn it. Why the fuck does every imaginable shit situation happen to me?' Karl curses his luck.

As he approaches, the figure looks up then leaps at him.

"LEONARDDDDD!"

Karl freezes. Beneath the dirt and tears, he recognizes the boy from the canteen. He sobs into his arms. A sweet scent of shampoo fills his nose.

'Wait… is this a woman?'

"Please let me stay the night. Kareena will kill me if I go back!" She begs.

Karl sighs, holding her steady. "First, let's calm down."

She ignores him, continuing to cry. Karl hesitantly places a hand on her head and pats it. Ten minutes pass before she finally stops.

"So, who did this to you?"

"It… it was Remi and his friends. They said you hurt their friend and used me to lure you out. But after waiting all day and you not showing up, they told me to call you. I refused, and they threatened me."

Karl examines her face bruised, swollen, streaked with tears. Finger marks line her red cheeks, her nose is broken, and her hair is uneven.

'Threatened? This is a clear assault.'

Seeing Karl's silence, she quickly adds, "O-Of course, I didn't tell them anything!"

Karl's eyes narrow. 'She could be useful.' Pushing the thought away, he asks, "And Kareena?"

"She's Remi's girlfriend. She's also my roommate. If she finds out, she'll harass me non-stop in the dorms. That's why I came here. Please, let me stay."

Karl pulls her up by the arm and starts walking. "Come on. First, we're going to the hospital. Then, I'm going to deal with Remi."

"W-What?! Leonard, you'll get hurt too! Don't be reckless!" she pleads.

Ignoring her, Karl dials Zena again. No answer.

He tries again. Still nothing.

On the third attempt, she finally picks up. "H-Hello?" Zena pants breathlessly.

"Tell the doctor to put his clothes back on. He's got another patient." Karl states flatly.

As they wait for Zena, Karl glances at the girl. 'What if I use Void Storage to transport her? It'd be much easier…'

Without thinking, he places a hand on her shoulder. A magic circle glows on his palm—but immediately flickers out. Karl suddenly breaks into a cold sweat.

The girl turns. "What?"

"Nothing. I tried using a healing spell I recently learned… but it failed."

"Does space magic even have healing spells?"

Karl tenses. 'She knows my element?'

"N-No… I tried to make one myself. It's still a prototype."

"Oh, okay."

Silence falls like snow on Christmas Eve, soft yet heavy. Finally, Zena arrives and gasps.

"Andressa! Who did this to you?!"

Karl notes her name. 'So, she is a woman.'

As they drive, Andressa recounts everything except Karl's involvement. Karl lets her talk. At the hospital, Andressa lies on a bed while the doctor casts healing magic.

Karl, watching from a distance, asks, "Won't the school do anything about this?"

Zena scoffs. "No, from what I heard this was just a minor brawl. They won't step in as long as the victim is alive with a working mana circulatory system. Or the victim was sexually abused, that too could be avoided if the culprit is valuable enough."

Karl smirks. "Pretty brutal if you ask me."

"Yes, the current federation head promotes fighting saying it is essential for survival. He is like that ever since the Red border break. But don't worry the federation elections are in 6 months."

"So, you are saying as long as I am strong enough my every crime would be tolerated?"

"If you are working for the federation then yes."

'That's almost dictatorship' Karl learns a crucial piece of information.

"Isn't there any law that favors the women in times like this?"

"What are you talking about? If there was any law like that, then it should be for men. As men have naturally less mana than women."

"Then hypnotically, if I hit woman then I can get away unharmed from the school authorities and the federation?"

"Just hit?"

"Just hit."

"Yes, nothing would happen." Karl smiles as he hears that. "Andressa told me to bring her few things from her room. But I don't know her room number could you tell me?" Karl asks with a poker face.

"Sure." Zena presses few buttons on her watch. "It's room no. 124" 

"Thanks."