“Infirmary Room”

They were back in the same room where Arian had first opened his eyes on day one.

The infirmary attendant, with a hand on her hip, glanced at the blonde girl and said:
"Think these three are always gonna be here?"

Layna shrugged and offered a faint smile:
"Well... truth is, we don't know. But in my opinion, yeah. These three won't quit until one of them kicks the bucket."

She gestured toward her friends, who were still lying unconscious on the beds.

Sunlight poured through the window, stabbing into the room like arrows, striking the walls and sheets. Shadows turned sharp and short—it was time for Magic Class, and everyone else had already gone.

The room stood empty, wrapped in the quiet of midday, as if even nature itself had decided to rest.

That silence shattered with a chorus of groans. “Ugh…” “Ahhh…”
Both Drekaron and Arian stirred, slowly forcing their eyes open. Every bone in their bodies screamed, each small movement dragging out a voiceless cry of pain from deep inside.

“Damn…” Arian muttered, staring at his bare arm, scorched and mangled by Drekaron’s flames. His gaze drifted to the black glove clinging to his hand—and with every glance at it, a sharp pain throbbed inside his skull.

Drekaron’s face was still stiff as he spoke, his eyes lowering. “Sorry… I went overboard.”

Arian let out a rough laugh, though pain flickered in his voice. “Don’t worry. I’m in worse shape than you anyway… Idiot, why’d you launch a blast that big? If it wasn’t for my dad’s glove, I’d be a corpse right now.”

He snatched up a pillow and hurled it straight at Drekaron.
“Argh—hey! What the hell!?” Drekaron barely rolled out of the way, groaning from the effort.

“You’re the one who went crazy first! You wouldn’t stop punching my gut and face. If it wasn’t for my dragon scales, they’d be scraping pieces of me off the floor right now!”

Their laughter broke out, echoing through the empty infirmary.

Then a voice rang sharp inside Arian’s mind: “Dad! You’re awake?!” Shadwolf’s excitement nearly rattled his skull.

“Yeah, I’m awake. But you ditched me again and ran off with Layna, didn’t you?” Arian’s annoyed tone was as clear as daylight.

“Weren’t you the one who told me I had to protect her?”

Arian pictured Shadwolf’s long tongue sticking out, teasing him the way he always did. Yeah, if he were here, he’d be mocking me right now…
He sighed inwardly. Fine then. Take good care of her for me.

“Hey, Arian…” Drekaron’s voice cut through his thoughts. His finger pointed at the black glove, the one untouched by flames. “That glove… it’s from your father, isn’t it?”

Arian froze for a beat, then pressed his hand against his temple as if to steady his thoughts. “Yeah… it’s from my dad.”

His other hand reached for the chain around his neck, pulling it free to show the small pendant. A crystal, pure and pale as moonlight, swayed at the end.
“And this… this one’s from my mom.”

He let the crystal rest against his chest again. His voice softened, almost swallowed by the quiet of the room.
“They’re all I’ve got left from my family.”

Drekaron’s face tightened; he didn’t know what else to say. He felt he’d stepped somewhere he shouldn’t have.
“Sorry, man… I didn’t know you’d lost your family.”

Silence pressed down again, until the third presence in the room finally stirred. A long yawn broke through the stillness.

“About time you woke up, Maro,” Arian muttered, glancing toward the vampire sprawled out on the left bed.

Maro tried pushing himself upright, but the lingering ache of elf blood in his veins slowed every movement. “Ugh… damn. Why are you two still here?”

Arian and Drekaron exchanged a glance—then, at the same time, both blurted out:
“Well, he’s the one who beat me to a pulp.”

“Oh-ho, so you two went at it?” Maro blinked at their battered faces, then burst out laughing so hard it shook his shoulders.

“You know what? Guess I’m the only one here who hasn’t been smacked around by some girl!”

Drekaron doubled over, clutching his stomach from laughter. Arian groaned, and Maro’s grin just grew wider as he watched their expressions sink further.

“Umm… you know, I don’t think it’s just the two of us! Don’t you have an older sister?”
Arian raised an eyebrow, narrowing his eyes at Drekaron.

The three of them burst out laughing again—right until the door swung open. A shadowy black wolf leapt straight into Arian’s arms. Behind him, Layna, Leo, and Sayron stepped into the room.

“Hey, Dad, I told you—stop coming in here! The smell of all these herbs stings my nose.”
Shadwolff grumbled inside his head.

“Hey, guys,” Sayron spoke up, spinning his wand between his fingers, “Professor Nayus said you three should come to his office tomorrow night after dinner.” His voice cut through their laughter, pulling the mood back down.

“Professor Nayus?”
The name on Maro’s lips instantly sparked Arian’s and Drekaron’s curiosity as well.

“Professor Nayus—he’s our magic instructor! He’s gonna be the one teaching us most of the spells, seals, and that kind of stuff.”
Layna’s voice was brimming with excitement as she introduced the new teacher.

“I just hope he’s not another lunatic like the last one.”
Arian muttered.

“He’s right,” Leo cut in, trying to hide the edge in his tone. “That Abraham guy really is insane. You should’ve seen him laughing when they carried Arian and Drekaron into the infirmary half-dead.”

Time slipped away as the six of them bantered, their voices overlapping in the small room. Eventually, the infirmary attendant came over for one last check-up. Thanks to their mana and unusual physiques, most of the fractures and burns had already healed.

But the damage to Arian’s right arm—the veins and the deep tissues—wasn’t something that would go away overnight.

“I don’t know what exactly happened to this arm of yours… but don’t worry. It’ll heal.”
With gentle hands, the nurse wrapped a fresh layer of white bandages around his injury. After prescribing a few medicines and scolding the rest to leave, she finally walked out of the room.

Everyone was worried about Arian. Shadolff, as always, stayed close to him and started licking his bandaged hand once the treatment was done.

“Hey, don’t worry about me. Already forgot this very hand stopped that idiot’s dragon breath?”
Arian smirked as he nodded toward Drikarun, who was busy dodging Leo’s slaps.

“Anyway, you guys go ahead. The three of us should check out this new teacher—this ‘Professor Nayus,’ right? Let’s see who he really is.”
Maro stretched and stood up, the group ready to meet their new instructor.