After Miss Catherine left, Arthur failed to get any sleep after their deep conversation, she sparked the thought of death back into his mind and he couldn't stop thinking about it.
He had been living so carelessly for the past few days that he had forgotten that this body was a lot more fragile than it was in his previous life. His bones could easily break when he tried punching something heavy without enforcing it with mana and he could get tired from simply running long distances.
When he was a half-demon, he was stronger and his body could endure so much more. But now that he was human, he needed to be more careful with how he lived from now on. However, he was still curious about his past life as Arthur before he woke up in this body.
Suddenly, he heard the room door open. He was highly cautious but didn't have a shred of energy in his body to draw his sword or keep on high alert.
"Who's there?"
He called.
"As your party leader, I'm disappointed that you lost a fight against Grey."
He was surprised to see Elizabeth here—especially past curfew. She was the type that managed most of her time accurately. Today was the first time he saw her in trousers, and as usual, she had her hair pulled back, tied by a ribbon—leaving some of her frontal hair as bangs.
"What are you doing here so late?" he asked.
"I was doing some reading in the library when I heard that a fight happened in the incantation mechanics class," she responded.
"What made you think it was me…?"
He then fixed himself to a comfortable position.
Elizabeth snorted.
"First of all, no first-year is taking incantation mechanics as a class. And second, you've become quite the celebrity for being the second lowblood to join the academy."
'The first being Obsidian I guess.'
"Third, rumor has it that you were able to defeat a berserk monster on your own…" She completed that sentence with a smirk. Then slowly settled on the wooden chair set close to the patient's bed.
"But I am glad to see you're doing well. Here…"
She revealed a stuffed paper bag and handed it over to him.
Arthur stared at it with caution after accepting it, this was also the first time seeing Elizabeth with her seriousness toned down. She usually kept a straight face, like a warrior ready for a fight.
"What is this?"
He scanned the bag with his hands as he tried to guess the contents inside.
"Water and food. I guess you've just woken up and you're probably starving," she answered.
Arthur smiled widely. "Really?"
She nodded.
He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he started to catch bits of the aroma coming from inside the paper bag. Immediately, he ripped the paper bag apart and grabbed whatever was making his mouth watery: a large juicy beef burger that could fit in both his small boy hands.
'This looks so good.'
He stuffed it down his face ravenously forgetting his table manners as he ate it all in a matter of two minutes.
His hunger was finally quenched.
'Delicieux!'
"I didn't know you could use wind magic so perfectly," she spoke after seeing he was done eating.
'I knew that's where you would start from.'
He nodded. "…Yeah, I have been trying to see what attribute of magic I am most connected with before I grab a crystal and check. But my wind magic is still weak."
He saw no reason in lying to Elizabeth, it was no longer a secret he could use to elements. Though the reason behind his wind magic was to remain a secret.
"Wait, you're telling me that you've not registered your affinity into the school system yet?" she sounded surprised.
"I guess…is it a big deal?"
"Of course, it's a big deal. You can't reach class A if you still have that much information lacking in the school system, it may also be the reason why your mana is so low compared to the average human mage."
"Hmm…I've not thought about it in that way yet. For now, I wish to muster as much theoretical knowledge on magic before I proceed to the practical side. There is still so much I don't know about this world."
He muffled out the final sentence.
"You should have joined the mage sector if that's what you wanted in the first place. Dark Knight students don't get full access to all the magic-related books. The same goes for mages, they can't read about swordsmanship."
"No student is studying in both sectors, is that what you're trying to say?"
"Only one, Theo Reginald. He's the grandson of the current Archmage, he's the most capable magic user that isn't connected to any noble family. People say Theo is next in line to become the next Archmage."
"Wow, he's incredible. By the way, how many major noble families are in this kingdom?"
"Well…we have the Rivians, Vermilions, Wylkes, Crown, and the Armes family. Those five families produce the most legit magic users in the kingdom. History says we were chosen by gods to be the strongest humanity has to offer."
"And do you believe that?"
Elizabeth shrugged at his question. "Not really, I can't make such assumptions when we've never faced a mage from the kingdoms in the West. It's just history, I've never seen a magic user from the Westlands—they may be stronger than us."
Arthur was a bit stunned by her words, it made sense to believe that it couldn't be just plain sea beyond the Draygol continent. The West still thrived despite being so far away.
In his past life, the kingdoms of the East and West were merely stories told by traders who traveled a lot. From what he had learned, the Vermilion family was the ruling family of the empire in the East—they were gifted fire magic users whose flames could go against dragons. Also, they played a huge role in driving the demons to the north during the first war and were later driven away from the east when the second war happened two hundred years ago.
"Theo, is just a gifted magic user from a basic noble family then?"
She nodded, "Yes, he also has an affinity for the ice attribute. I heard he didn't even take part in any exam because of how much of a mess ice can create."
"Is ice the strongest of the deviant attributes?"
"I don't know much about deviant attributes," she answered. "All I know is that they are hard to control when awakened, and magic users who have an affinity for a deviant mana attribute undergo extreme training to cultivate their abilities."
"Has anyone ever had total control over the four primal sources of magic?"
"Honestly speaking, no. A human can't control all four. Dual primal users are many, and for your case specifically, it's rare to find someone who can switch between them so easily," she explained.
He then lay back on the bed after taking a sip from the plastic water bottle, she had brought him. Her statement had confirmed that he was indeed very different from the rest of the magic users in this place; he had found no problem in controlling fire and wind so far. In fact, wind was easier to use because he didn't need to worry about getting burnt by the flames or losing control.
'Is that why I was offered four attributes? Am I compatible with all four?'
"I have something to ask you, Arthur," Elizabeth spoke with a serious tone.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Are you using an artifact to suppress your mana?" she asked, staring at him quizzically; her deep blue eyes fixed on him to spot any change in his facial expressions.
"During the exam, I sensed a spike in your mana for a moment before it all vanished in that one swing," she continued.
Arthur didn't know what she was talking about. But it seemed like possessing a demon's sword was going to raise more and more questions about him—especially after his fight with Grey.
"I don't have any artifact with me," he answered, trying to hide the slightest hint of nervousness. "I can't even afford a dimension ring of low storage to store my sword, what makes you think I can own an artifact." He shrugged as he faced her with a comfortable grin on his face.
She stood up after his answer. Arthur knew she wasn't dumb so it was only a matter of time before she starts asking questions like this. Dark sister was too powerful, so keeping it a secret was already going to be difficult if he was planning to continue using it.
"Not everyone fights a third year like Grey and earns his respect. You're either pretending to be weak, or I am that good of a teacher."
Arthur jokingly scoffed.
"What if I just got lucky…?"
"For the three weeks you've known me, the least you should know is that I do not base anything on luck. The last time we trained, you blocked my sword with ease. Yet, I was using twenty percent of my real power. I was meant to take you out in a single hit, but it didn't…" she responded.
"…I've always known there was more to you than the ability to not call out spells. I want to know what makes you so special to have the attention of both the Archmage and strongest Dark knight in the kingdom."
"The Arch Mage?"
"Yes, I came here to tell you that he asked me about you a while back and wanted to know what happened during the selection exam," she said.
"Bairon suggested we don't tell anyone that you wielded both lightning and fire because people will start questioning what you are. You had to lose an arm or the entire body after that attack, but you only got burnt like we had fed you normal spells—"
"I am not normal, that's all I know for now." He interrupted.
She smirked. "I knew you were different…can't say I'm surprised."
"You're not?" he was shocked.
"Obsidian told me something recently. He said he's mentoring only those he sees with the potential of fighting against a god-level threat, one capable of ending this realm."
"A god-level threat?" he muttered. For some reason, he felt nothing but fear towards the statement god level threat. It gave him goosebumps to the point where his breathing was speeding up.
'A threat capable of ending the magic realm, is that even possible?'
She nodded. "No one will tell you this because we are just kids in their eyes, but Obsidian believes that these peaceful days are numbered—in a few years, they'll end and the world will be swallowed by pain."
Her words were clear as day, so he couldn't have misheard that. Elizabeth had no reason to lie to him—meaning she was saying the truth.