When Arlen awoke he found himself in an infirmary room, alone.
'What happened?'
"Good morning Arlen, how are you feeling?"
'Tired Edgar, after using the ability [Phoenix's Tears] I don't remember anything.'
"'Normal, you put all the power you had to heal that girl, it was like you emptied yourself inside and you had to recover."
'How long have I been like this?'
"I don't know, but I think about three days or so."
'That long?'
A little incredulously Arlen got out of bed and walked out into the hallway. At his door were two guards standing watch.
—Hello good morning...
As soon as they saw him the guards sent him back inside the room as they made a call that Arlen had woken up. It wasn't long before Brand arrived.
—Hi Arlen. How are you? How are you feeling?
—Hi, Brand. Well, I had a little headache, but I'm feeling great now....
Arlen didn't know what to say. He noticed Brand's face was serious, even worried. He wanted to know what was wrong, so he shut up and sat back down on the bed in the infirmary.
—How long have I been asleep?
—Almost three days...
Silence reigned between the two of them. Arlen felt as if he had done wrong, it reminded him of those times in school when he was alone, he didn't know what to think or what to say.
—Don't worry, Olivia is fine and back in class today. —That reassured Arlen. —But you'll have to explain how you saved her, or at least give an excuse to those who saw you, Kevin, Caleb and Laia, and, of course, Olivia, who kept asking questions about you.
A smile escaped Arlen when he heard that from Brand. But he was confused.
—What can I say? And besides, what happened to the one who attacked us?
—The normal thing to do is to return him to his family, but no family has vouched for him. He's under surveillance for now, but if the families still don't want him, we'll have to lock him up for attempted murder. —Arlen sighed in relief before Brand continues talking. —But Arlen, you used a Phoenix ability, didn't you?
Arlen stopped in his tracks before answering anything.
—Yes.
—How did you learn it?
—I just felt I could do it. —He said out of ideas.
—You just felt it?
—Yes, it was the same with Kevin, I cured him.
When Brand heard that he sighed. After yesterday he already assumed that was what had happened, but he was hoping for some more developed answer, although he didn't really know what to expect that seemed too simple.
—What else do you feel you can do kid?
Arlen swallowed before answering, unsure of what to say.
—I don't know. I can't tell you right now.
Brand watched Arlen carefully, he wanted Arlen to tell him what he thought, he wanted him to trust him, and he could tell there was something Arlen wasn't telling him.
Brand sighed as his gaze fell on the necklace Arlen was wearing.
—It's a nice necklace your parents left you.
Arlen was surprised by Brand's comment. He ducked his head and looked down at the necklace he was wearing again and smiled.
—Brand —Arlen said as he looked at the necklace—, what happened to them?
—I don't know if you're ready to know the truth yet.
—Ready? Sir, you know I have full confidence in you, but it's my parents, it's my family, it's my life.
Brand had to bite his tongue. He knew the truth, but he didn't want a boy like him to carry that pressure just yet.
—When you finish these two years at the Academy, when you're done I'll explain everything. I promise you Arlen.
Arlen looked at Brand.
—Okay, I just hope you don't die of old age before then.
The two looked at each other for a moment before laughing. It served to ease the tension that was building up between the two.
—So, how are you feeling?
Arlen pranced around the room a couple of times before answering.
—As good as new.
—Well, come on, you're off today. Tomorrow you'll be back with the rest. I have to get back to class so I have to drop you off.
When the two left the infirmary they went their separate ways. Arlen decided to go to a quiet place so he went up to a place where he wouldn't expect to find anyone, the top of the mountain where he met Ivonne.
When he finally got there the sun was quite high, and although it was almost lunchtime Arlen was hardly hungry.
'Edgar, open the status window.'
"It's about time."
[Name: Arlen Ober]
[Level: 2 (8/50)]
[Ability: Telekinesis 19%]
[Awaken state: Novice]
[Bloodline power: 17]
[HP: 20/20]
[Strong: 19]
[Agility: 18]
[Stamina: 20]
[Points: 1]
[>Skills]
[>Quests]
—This is different, isn't it?
"That's right, your stamina increased by one, and your blood power increased slightly as well, plus a [free point] to add."
—And how I won these things?
"Let's just say that the amount of power you used to heal Olivia was so much that it pushed you over the edge, and well, I guess you pushed your limits somewhat too."
—Ha, well, let's add that to [Strong].
"Well said. And check the [Quests] section."
[Keep me warm(4):
Stay five hours in the sun.
Reward to choose from:
-2 experience points and 1 bloodline power point.
-2 experience points and 1 free point]
'So the quest has evolved again, don't you have any originality to give me something different?'
"'Shut up, you're still a long way from being able to do anything with that power you have. You also know that quests will appear depending on the moment."
Curious otherwise Arlen opened the skills he had.
[Analyze lvl.1:
When you analyze an object or a person you will get the corresponding information. As you advance in skill level, the amount of information that will come out will be greater]
[Tears of the Phoenix:
Produces tears capable of healing any wound depending on the amount of power you put in.
Instant effect.
Cost 3 BP]
[Tears of Fire:
Produces tears that burn whatever they touch. Not as potent as acid, but almost, depending on how much power you put in.
Instant effect.
Cost 5 BP]
After checking that everything was in order he headed back towards the dorm, on the way he was still talking to Edgar about something Brand had told him. Give an explanation about what happened to his friends.
When he finally got back most of the students were resting after eating, with a glance he noticed Caleb was on the training field behind the dorms training his skill along with Laia. He assumed Kevin would be sleeping, but he had no idea where Olivia was.
Trying to delay the moment as long as possible, Arlen went to the quarry in search of something to eat when he saw Olivia sitting next to another boy. Arlen was the first time he had seen him, or at least the first time he had noticed him. A tall boy with short black hair, quite handsome and with pronounced facial features.
It didn't take Arlen even 5 seconds to use [Analyze] on him.
[Loic Nurdox.
Awaken State: Novice (III).]
'What does what's in parentheses mean?'
"'Thanks to your power increase I can help you distinguish the level of people more. It's such a minimal change that it's not enough to say that the skill is different."
'Ah, but with quests you don't say the same thing.'
"I wish Olivia would forget you and leave you for that Loic. He looks like a handsome boy."
'Shut up. And what does (III) mean?'
"I've divided each stage into 3 roughly, to give you a clearer idea of each person's level. (I) being the lowest and (III) being the highest."
'I mean, it's strong... Where am I?'
"Novice (I)."
Arlen noticed how Edgar chuckled in his head.
Trying to forget the scene Arlen went straight upstairs to the bedroom to lie down. There he ran into Kevin.
—Hey, Arlen. Did they get you out of the infirmary yet?
—Yeah, just an hour or so ago. Did you miss me?
—Of course. But Arlen, what you did with Olivia was the same thing you did to cure me, wasn't it?
Arlen froze for a moment before nodding.
—I promise I'm not a freak and I'll try to explain as best I can.
To Arlen's surprise Kevin gave him a hug.
—Thank you for saving me, thank you for saving Olivia.
Arlen returned the hug, which didn't last much longer as Kevin pulled away.
—That's it, too much male contact for one week. —That comment brought a smile to Arlen's face and he relaxed. —But Arlen, it was amazing, what did you heal us with? Tears? And you know what you get all around your orange eye? It was awesome to see, really.
Arlen was stunned.
—I'm sorry, what? Repeat that.