Typhon's three-day stay in the hospital was peaceful, with him only taking a break from his cultivation when nurses brought him his meals and when the doctors ran routine checks on his state of wellbeing. Now that it was nearing the time of his discharge, Typhon was cleaning himself up in the bathroom. After taking a shower, Typhon carefully examined his current body in the mirror of the bathroom vanity. Ignoring the burn scars that covered the right side of his torso, his body was rather skinny and malnourished. Skin was tight around the bones and certain muscle groups were visible, but they were not built up at all, giving off more of a weak vibe instead of a fit one. Typhon sighed as he dragged his hand down his face dramatically.
"Just one more thing to work on, I suppose."
He muttered to himself quietly. After satisfying his curiosity about his body's aesthetics, he turned his attention to his face. He had raven hair that was much longer than Typhon liked, with long bangs that obfuscated his vision if left to hang freely. His remaining eye was brown and unremarkable, as were the majority of his features. If Typhon was to sum up his face in a word; average.
"Well, once I do a body reconstruction and rid this body of impurities, this new face of mine should be rather attractive."
Finished inspecting himself, Typhon got dressed in some plain pants and shirt. His shoes were regular sneakers, but they were comfortable enough and didn't rub the skin unnecessarily, so Typhon was fine with them.
'They're much better than sandals and the leather shoes we used to wear,'
In spite of all the danger he would likely face out in the world, Typhon was excited at the prospect of exploring the world after it had changed so much. During his brief time not cultivating during his stay, he had gotten acquainted with his mobile phone. Knowing that you didn't have to enter a library to obtain general knowledge of the world was an amazing revelation for Typhon. He felt that if he weren't so pressed for time, he could have spent days just absorbing new information from the internet with his phone.
Slinging his bag that his new sister had previously brought him over his shoulder, Typhon exited his room and walked to the reception desk. The receptionist smiled at him, prompting him to tell her what he wanted.
"Discharge, please."
"Name of patient?"
"Typhon Von Ellar."
The receptionist typed in the name on her keyboard, clicked a few buttons with the mouse before handing Typhon a clipboard and a pen.
"Just sign your name at the bottom, and you're all good to go."
Typhon quickly signed his name and handed the clipboard back to the receptionist. She nodded to him after briefly looking at where Typhon had signed and went back to typing on her computer. Noticing his cue to leave, Typhon spun on his heel and walked out the front door of the hospital. As he exited, he was shocked to see how developed the city was. Large high-rise buildings stood like titans around smaller buildings in the CBD of the city known as Eurona. Classical architecture clashed and fought for prominence with more sleek and modern apartment complexes and office buildings. The roads were much wider than the ones in the capital he once governed, and instead of beast-drawn carriages and carts, people moved around in self-propelling metal carts known as cars.
"... I suppose this is what 500 years of progress looks like. Seems like normal living will be something of an adventure."
Typhon had a smile on his face as he gazed around at the alien surroundings. While he was intrigued about everything around him, his first priority was returning to the dormitory he was staying at and investigating the existence of magic. He knew that his phone had the capabilities of a map, so he pulled it out of his pocket and found the map application. Entering the name 'Six Seasons Magic Academy' in the search field brought up a set of directions for him to follow.
Typhon was happy to walk the 37 kilometres to the academy, but just as he was about to set off, there was a tap on his left shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to see Carmine standing there with a neutral expression on her face.
"So, you feeling okay?"
"About as good as you can with a missing arm and eye. Why are you here?"
Carmine bit her lip nervously and moved some of her hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes briefly and sighed.
"We have some things to discuss."
Understanding that this was likely about Typhon's existence in her brother's body, he nodded in response.
"I have a car around the corner. I'll drive you back to the academy and we can talk on the way."
Carmine walked off and Typhon followed behind her until they reached her car. It was clearly a luxury model, as none of the cars around hers in the parking lot stood out as much. Carmine opened the driver's side door and motioned for Typhon to get in the passenger's seat. He opened the door and after putting on the seatbelt, something that proved hard with only one arm, they slowly pulled out of the parking lot and hit the road. It was busy and Carmine kept her eyes straight ahead, but her mind was clearly elsewhere as she rhythmically tapped her fingers on the steering wheel whenever they were stopped at a red light. Pulling up at the next set of traffic lights, Carmine spoke up finally.
"Look, I don't blame you for anything that happened, alright? My brother made a mistake and you're another victim in all this, even if things turned out pretty good for you overall."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"So, I'm not gonna kick up some massive stink and start cursing at you, but I do have some questions that I need you to answer."
"Okay."
"Were you powerful in your past life?"
"Yes."
"What are your intentions in this life?"
"I will correct the wrongs done to your brother and then I will figure it out from there."
Carmine's hands trembled slightly as she heard his words. Despite being choked up, she managed to squeeze her next question out.
"Then... can you help fix his reputation?"
Typhon raised his eyebrow at this request.
"What do you mean?"
Carmine gripped the steering wheel so hard, her knuckles turned white.
"My brother was always seen as a piece of garbage, some talentless fuck who was born into the lap of luxury and never had to work at anything. But that's just not true, my brother worked so hard to achieve what our parents demanded of him, yet he could never cut it as a mage. He just didn't have the aptitude for it."
The line of traffic in front of them started to move again, so Carmine briefly turned her attention away from Typhon and back to the road. Typhon had a pretty good idea of what Carmine wanted from him, so he continued on the conversation.
"You want me to prove that your brother wasn't talentless?"
Carmine gave a small nod.
"I don't care what at, even if it's just some mundane trade. I just want my brother to be remembered positively. If you promise me you'll do this, I will teach you everything I can about anything you want to know."
Typhon sat silently for a few moments. Truthfully, there was no downside to her proposition, the one thing Typhon needed desperately right now was knowledge, and he had one of the most prestigious mage family heirs offering to teach him everything. The only thing was that it would drag Typhon into the spotlight again, there was a chance that he would become embroiled in schemes of machinations of powerful people if he showed he had talent.
But being low-key just wasn't Typhon's style. No matter what happened, he was determined to not be looked down upon. Whether that was his dragon heritage speaking or just something unique to Typhon, it didn't really matter. He would never be under someone's thumb.
"Carmine, I agree to your terms. I will make sure that the name Typhon goes down in history. No one will look down upon the legacy I will forge in this life."
Letting out a small chuckle, Carmine relaxed her tense shoulders and slumped back in her chair.
"Then... we have an agreement."