Chapter 289: Chapter 304: Surprise Guest.

After making it back to my room I gave Mo her medicine. She was fine, but apparently, you had to spend a full day of being healthy before you returned to classes. It was a regulation put in place to prevent people who were “Fine” from getting sick again because they returned to physical training too early.

After she took it, I stared at her until she ate the food along with it, slowly getting used to more normal food, although she was still taking the pellets as well… I wasn’t sure if she was addicted necessarily… But I was honestly a bit worried about what might happen if she suddenly stopped altogether.

We had just finished getting ready for bed and I was dead tired after sleeping very little the night before… But just before I shut my eyes a knock sounded on our door… Isy just slept right through it, but it sent Mo to her feet, hands up, ready to fight.

‘I guess she’s still tired if she’s this on guard…’ I suddenly pulled a shirt over her head, making her confused enough to start thinking and quickly be put at ease as her instincts relaxed and I opened the door. “Bear?”

He stared at me calmly. “The meat you cooked for us. I need more.”

“W-what?” I stuttered, struggling to keep myself awake and adjust to my brain having to function, my body expecting me to already be in bed.

“The meat, you said it was dire wolf right?”

I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the door. “It’s Yeah. Yeah, that’s right. Why do you need more?”

“Personal reasons.”

I groaned. “This couldn’t wait until tomorrow? They aren’t even supposed to be native to this region… So I honestly don’t know where you would find them… And they would eat you alive… So don’t you dare go looking for any by yourself…”

He slowly looked down. “Right… Of course.”

‘Why won’t he just tell me what’s going on…’ I slowly looked over him. He hid it well, but his breathing and heart rate were still calming down, and there were trickles of sweat on his skin. ‘Did he run here?’ I sighed, stepping outside and closing the door behind me. “I think it’s time you tell me about these personal reasons of yours…”

As we stood in the hallway he stared at me for so long I had to nervously check to make sure I was wearing my pajamas properly and not embarrassing myself. Sure enough, they were buttoned all the way… Not that it really made his eyes feel any lighter on my skin. ‘Well… He didn’t refuse…’

“I have a sister…”

My eyes widened slightly. ‘He… WHAT!’ A long awkward silence followed, as if that was his entire explanation, leaving me to try and piece together everything on my own… Although had I been braver I could have pressed him for more information. But with how awkward just standing there in the hall felt I could hardly even look him in the eyes for long. ‘I guess… She really liked the wolf meat? No… It would have to be more than just that if he ran over hear late at night. Well… The meat restores a decent bit of manna when consumed… But magic is illegal. Although… Manna is tied really closely to stamina, if you run out of it your body basically stops functioning… So…’ “She’s sick… Isn’t she…”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

He crossed his arms. “That’s right…”

‘He says that like he was expecting me to get it…’ “And eating the meat you took her made her better? She suddenly had more energy, if only a little. Is that right?”

He nodded.

‘Honestly, what a pain…’ “I don’t have any meat left… But I might be able to help her… If you take me to her.”

“No…”

‘Why are you such a freaking pain! Maybe he’s not perfect after all…’

I sighed. “Ok… So… Can I go back to sleep?”

“No… Or…” He slowly looked to the side, casually changing his gaze down the hall as he leaned back. “It wouldn’t look good, you following me through the city at night, especially not dressed like that… Although what you're wearing isn’t really the problem…”

‘Oh… So he was thinking about my appearance… Yeah, I guess he has a point… Perfect status reinstated.’’

“I can bring her here though… If that’s alright…”

I yawned. “Sure, just try to be quick.” ‘Although… Wait, there’s no way this was the best option right? Couldn’t I have just changed clothes or… Well, he’s already gone… For a big man, he moves fast.’

After rubbing a hand down my face I slowly leaned back against the door and sank down. ‘I could be totally wrong, but if her gate is broken from trauma like mine was, then it stands to reason she would be leaking manna, her body constantly expelling it instead of being able to hold it. I had treatment… More or less, but what ultimately fixed the problem was me learning how to use magic… Although… I’m not sure that’s something I can really teach her… Still, I can at least relieve the symptoms. Even just being close to Mara was enough for me, and I have way more manna than her sense I’m a mage.’

I knew the moment I went back inside I would fall asleep, so I sat in the hall and waited. Sure enough, he was back about half an hour later with the same stern expression, holding an incredibly embarrassed girl in his arms. Just one glance from me made her squeak, shutting her eyes and turning into Bear. ‘See, in my mind that’s what shy means… I’m not like that am I?’ I slowly tapped a knuckle against my head, waking up my brain. Even though all my senses were sharp thanks to my dragon's blood, my mind was still weary, giving me the strangest sense of being tired, but also hopped up on caffeine, minus the jitters.

‘I feel like one of these days… I’m going to meet a really outgoing person… And they are going to feel like an alien…’ “Bring her inside.” I opened the door but my whole body stiffened as he got close, as if I was being forced to the ground by a wave of pressure. I hadn’t noticed it before… But the air around the girl was so intense that it nearly leveled me. Her body was practically a manna well, leaking out so much it made my skin electric and turned my eyes orange, if only for a moment. The manna was so thick that if I tried to look at it I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face, like a dense fog was covering, bathing everything.

“Is everything alright?”

“Fine…” I let out a shaky breath walking inside and having him lay her on my bed for the time being. ‘Ok… Her gate is broken for sure… It’s almost like her body just continuously increased manna production to compensate for loss… But in turn, that only broke the gate open wider so to speak… And now she’s constantly leaking out what feels like nuclear levels of energy…’ My body instinctively started absorbing it until I was completely filled to the brim, and although I was still tired, I wasn’t nearly as exhausted as before. ‘At this rate… She might as well be a secret weapon… An instant recharge for mages that never runs dry…’ I carefully looked over to Bear, and then Mo, but it was clear neither of them could feel it at all. “Ok… So… What the heck happened to her?”

Honestly, I would have bought anything. Human experiment, raised by monsters, born gifted, cursed by a demon…

“Nothing really. She says that one day something inside her just snapped and ever since then she’s hardly been able to move. Strangely enough, her body is incredibly strong, and I don’t think she’s ever been sick… But she hasn’t had enough energy to walk for a long time, and can barely change her own clothes.”

She squeaked again rolling on my bed to face the wall.

I would have believed anything… Except that… ‘She just woke up one day and her gate was broken? So… She accidentally lived through something as traumatic as being chased by a faceless demon that feeds off fear and trauma? She’s timid… If she’s a scaredy cat maybe something more minor could be just as traumatic relatively speaking… She’s just a little girl too… I had over 25 years under me… Still, I doubt she will even be able to talk, much less about what happened… Not that it really matters anyway… Well… Let’s see what I can do.’