Consequence

The white walls and ceiling made it unnecessary for me to question my location. Lately, I had been in hospitals a lot; it felt like a terrible habit I just couldn't shake. I slowly pushed myself up from the hospital bed, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. This time, I wasn't alone; a few other people were in the room. The air was thick with the smell of a hangover, and most of them seemed to have alcohol poisoning. As I looked around, I spotted the unlucky guy I had hit from behind. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that his friend, the big brute, was missing. Then it all came rushing back. Oh, fuck, did I just kill the poor guy? Is that why he's not here? The thought of possibly having killed him didn't bother me that much; I was more anxious about being on trial for murder and how I would be able to reach Richard afterward. Maybe I could lie about it, but even if I claimed self-defense, there were plenty of witnesses who saw me attack. This thought reminded me why I acted: the quest! I opened my quest menu to check if it had been completed and what the reward was. To my surprise, it was still there—the same quest to help the girl. What did I do then? I helped her; why is this quest still active? "Good, you have woken up." I turned my head to the right, toward the voice. A soldier had entered the room and stood a few feet from my bed. "Get dressed; the Captain is waiting for you." I took my time getting dressed; I needed to figure out what I was going to say. Maybe there was still a way to get away clean, but the main issue was that many people saw me conjure my sword and throw it into his chest. The academy doesn't take murder lightly. As I put on my pants and reflected on last night, a realization struck me.

Did the sword conjure in my hand because I was bound to it? Does it mean I can conjure my weapon at will, and it will return to me? That's something new; I haven't heard anything like this before, but it doesn't seem like an A-tier ability. Still, I can see it having its uses. While I contemplated what tricks I could perform with my weapon bind, I completely forgot that a soldier was waiting for me. "Hurry, maggot!" he yelled, standing in front of me. After I closed the strap on my uniform, we began to walk out of the hospital wing. Just as we passed the administrator's table, I noticed a familiar face, and my heart started to race again. The big brute, leaning against the wall, raised his head as we walked by. He gave me the "You're dead" look, and the anger in his eyes was unmistakable. I turned my head away, feeling the weight of his gaze on my back, a chilling reminder of the trouble that was sure to follow me unless I found a way to stay out of his path.

Similar to last time, the captain yelled for the door to open before the soldier escorting me could knock. It's as if he can sense when someone is approaching, or maybe he has extraordinary hearing and can detect footsteps stopping at this door. Nobody truly knows what the captain's power is, but the system warned me that he is strong. Upon entering the room, I found Captain Brook sitting at his desk, nose deep in paperwork. We walked closer, and when I stood in front of the desk, the soldier pulled out a chair from under the table and pushed me into it. After the soldier left the room, Captain Brook lifted his eyes and brows, giving me a small but sinister smile. He reached under his desk, pulled out my weapon, and placed it on the table.

"You had a busy night yesterday, as I heard," he said while looking at the sword. "Funny how this antique piece of shit managed to take Eric down." He stopped looking at the sword and looked at me. "Some people say that the sword came out of nowhere. What do we think about that?" he asked and stared at me. For some time I didn't know what to respond, so for a few seconds we just sat there in silence. I didn't want to provide him with information about my powers. Right now everyone only knows that I have extraordinary healing ability. "But never mind how the sword managed to get there unnoticed, little rat like you are, striking fellow cadets from behind; I guess you probably managed to hide it somewhere," he said, not even allowing me to answer his questions. I could feel, as I spoke to him, how deeply ingrained the concept of the strong preying on the weak is around here; he treated me like I was vermin among a pack of wolves. I did somewhat win against Eric the brute by myself in a fair fight. "But I guess boys will be boys. Take your weapon and get out of my sight." What? I almost killed somebody, and I get a little speech from him, and what is this, "boys will be boys"? Where is the lawsuit? The laws, which we were required to read and sign, clearly state that we agreed to follow them. He noticed that I was still sitting there, with a dumbfounded face and mouth slightly opened. "The laws of the Academy are not written in stone; conflict grows the character; not everything goes by the book," he said, and an evil smile appeared on his face again. "Don't make me say it a third time; take your trash and go," he said angrily and pushed the weapon across the table in front of me. I picked up my sword. I didn't feel relief; I felt afraid. Brooke didn't care what happened on campus; he didn't mind cadets fighting each other, even if someone may be killed. I felt the cold breath of revenge from the boys in the corridor pressing down on my neck. They are going to come for me now, for sure.

As fast as I could, I made my way to my dorm room. When I entered and closed the door behind me, I turned around and saw Edward sitting on the foot of his bed. On the third empty bed sat the girl I recognized immediately; it was the girl from the corridor. She was stunning, with long dark hair tied in a bun on top of her head. Her beautiful green eyes had a hint of yellow in them, like a small candle glowing in a dark room.

"So Simon, you're the dumb one who wanted to play hero. "What a huge mistake," she said, letting out a giant sigh. Her words didn't bother me; I remained stunned, staring at her. Her voice sounded confident and alluring. I found myself hypnotized by her voice, her beauty, and her commanding presence. An inexplicable pull drew me towards her, as if she possessed the ability to shatter the foundations of my existence. "You have no idea what you're getting into," she continued, her gaze piercing through me, igniting a mix of fear and fascination.

"I think you meant to thank me," I replied, feeling confused.

"It's not what you did, but who you did it to," Edward chimed in.

"Who then?" I asked.

"The smaller guy was Paul, and the big, strong one was Eric, but they aren't the problem," the mysterious lady in distress explained.

"Is Brook the problem?" I asked, trying to piece it together.

"No," she said, glancing at Edward.

Edward sighed and said, "Cadets form groups in the academy for raiding and for protection. It's actually quite simple: if you're friends with one of the strongest cadets here, nobody wants to mess with you."

As Edward explained the situation, I began to understand the issue. "And Eric was friends with someone considered strong?" I asked, looking at Edward.

Edward nodded and added, "Strong and dangerous—a spoiled little turd named Adam."

"What did they want from you?" I asked the girl still sitting on the empty bed. She turned her bracelet toward me, revealing a rank A. My eyes widened in surprise. That meant she didn't even need my help; she could have handled them herself. The system had baited me into trouble; there was no need to help her. It made more sense if I needed to help them against her.

"They want me in their raiding group. I politely declined, but they didn't take no for an answer; one of them got a little too handsy and ended up on the ground," she explained with a calm demeanor.

"Usually, I would just walk away; no need to drag myself into this mess," she continued, "but I think we could help each other. You can help me, and I can make sure Adam and his goons don't kill you when you go on the portal raid next week." She stood up and tucked a strand of hair that had escaped from her bun behind her ear.

"Help you with what?" I asked.

"You are not going to like the answer," Edward managed to interrupt before she could explain.

"Well, first off, we need a group. A group requires five members, and right now, there are only three of us." She started to walk slowly toward the door; her steps were silent, like a cat's.

"But that's not what I need help with. I need assistance with what will happen when I go into the portal. Let's just say we want to take a little detour, break a few laws, and hunt bigger game." As she reached the door, she turned her body toward us.

"I will keep you safe; you will be my group, a way we can help each other. Do we have a deal?" I looked toward Edward, waiting for his reaction. I could see the worry on his face, but still, he gave a slight nod. "You have a deal," I said, standing up from my bed. She placed her hand on the handle of the door and opened it slightly.

"Wait!" I yelled. "I didn't get your name," I asked.

"You can call me Emma," she said, offering a small smile before walking out of the room. I sat back down on my bed. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, a text appeared in my vision:

Quest: Help the girl—Completed

You have leveled up!

Now Available:

- Level up points

Mana points

New Skill:

-Blink