"What in gods name do you mean they disappeared?" Asked principal mack flabbergasted.
"I took attendance and there were 27 students, Then i blinked and they... disappeared? Like vanished into thin air disappeared. They did leave behind paper talismans with each of their names tho so maybe they're pulling a prank?" Mr. woodsworth laughed sheepishly after speaking.
"Pulling a prank? PULLING A PRANK?! Do you even hear yourself woody? I thought you sobered up from LSD dude what the fuck?" screamed principal mack in disbelief.
"I fucking did man, I am not tripping when i say this. I haven't touched it in 5 years now and nothing is going to change that. But since these are some incredibly unbelievable circumstances, check the hallway cameras yourself and then take a look at the classroom will ya?" retorted Woody followed by an uncomfortable laugh.
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"Get them mithril! Aww isn't he just the cutest." doted Xernias as a decomposing dragon snarled and jumped at Nath and Drew.
'What the fuck! What the fuck! What the actual fuck! This psychopath is actually going to kill me right now. He went on and on about some cute pet of his and Drew made the mistake of asking if he could take a look at it and now there's a 10 feet undead dragon attempting to what? snuggle up to us and give us a few friendly licks? Oh hell nah man.' thought Nathaniel while sprinting in the opposite direction of mithril as Drew lay dumbstruck.
"I don't think it'll hurt me, I'm pretty sure this is another test!" screamed Drew at Nathaniel as the dragon kept accelarating towards him.
Mithril crashed right into Drew and tore off a limb, blood began to spurt everywhere and Drew screeched in a voice pitched higher than usual. As the light within Drew's eyes began to fade, a dark thread struck the dragon seemingly flowing out of Xernias's palms.
"Bad Boy! You must either go for the neck for a quick kill or have them exhuast their energy by running around so we can get unharmed spoils. What if you tore the limb of a troll or a Dragonnewt? Gah the loss of materials is hurting me just to imagine." Spoke Xernias nonchalantly as if Drew wasn't on the brink of death.
Drew began to twitch and spaz out as Nathaniel screamed "Milord! He's actually going to die at this rate!" Xernias said nothing and simply smiled. He then pointed at the shaking Drew who's arm regenerated followed by his complexion recovering.
"We are in my beloved palace of Keftos where death is impossible. You will heal to perfection as long as a singular muscle on your body is twitiching with mana." Spoke Xernias with pride as Nathaniel began having an existential crisis wondering if a persons head was to be cut off. Would the body generate a new head or the head generate a new body? If its the former, would the head be the same person still or a copy with the exact same memories?
Xernias looked at Nath with a smirk before quietly muttering "Wanna find out?" He then broke down into laughter.
"Well then, Fight it out till youre immobilized or run out of energy, either physcially or mentally. Go on Mithril, get em to your hearts content!" chuckled Xernias before snapping his fingers and reappearing in mid-air with a bottle of what seemed like booze and a bed constructed by golden light.
"AH FUCK" Screamed Nathaniel before running away from the dragon. He then realized the room they were in was deceptively small. The roof seemingly went on forever but there was an inconsistency at 20 or so feet, a little higher than the height Xernias decided to rest on. The room looked like a hallway enclosed by giant sheets of light with maybe 500 metres in each direction? The wall doesn't have a visible end but there is a field blocking me from going any further. There is a red carpet covering the floor with massive pillars evenly spaced at the center of the carpet. The center of the room keeps shifting or atleast it feels like it is. Does this room even have a center? The more i watch, the more these inconsistencies keep piling up.
Mithril crashed right into Nath breaking a few ribs and shoving him into the invisible light as he was staring at the ever shifting ceiling in thought. Mithril bit his head right off and looked up at Xernias for affirmation.
Nathaniels vision was covered in darkness as every moment in his life seemingly re-aired in his head. He felt every emotion again, every bit of pain from his childhood, even the memories he had voluntarily burrowed rose back up. Pain, Anguish, Sorrow and helplessness encompassed his mind before dissipating. Light flooded back into his vision as his head regenerated back with a ball of light around it.
"Good boy! Thats exactly how you do it." Spoke Xernias as mithril began charging at Drew who had gotten up in a jolt and began running frantically. A look of contemplation crossed his mind as he sped up and stopped right as he felt the invisble wall at the other end of the room. He then waited for Mithril and rolled aside as Mithril crashed into the wall.
"Take that!" Laughed Drew as Xernias gave birth to a wide grin.
"Guess I'll let them fall back in tune with their instincts and constant rushes of adrenaline for a couple of hours before letting them give mana control a shot." Muttered Xernias as Nathaniel looked up at him with an excited grin.
'Almost dying felt absolutely incredible! If this somehow helps me learn magic, guess I'll try to die by crashing into that goddamn dragon and hopefully hurt it in some way. This is genuinely the most fun i've had since attaining conciousness in this godforsaken body overflowing with boredom.' Nathaniel ran right into Mithril screaming and swinging his right arm, connecting with it's hanging left wing as the sound of a pop erupted and Nathaniels right arm hung limp.
"FUCK" Screamed Nath as a familiar sensation of darkness caressed his mind.