Near the huts of the trainees, a building with a spacious interior stood. Only one storey tall, the structure bathed in the fiery colour of dusk. A large shadow of the wooden building formed opposite, offering shade to anyone who desired a reprieve from the sun's rays.
Inside, propped up against the walls were dozens of beds. Most of them were empty, save for one.
The occupant of the cot had a myriad of bruises all over their figure. Every so often, a groan would escape from their lips, even though their eyes were closed. The figure in question seemed to be in an unconscious state.
Standing next to the bed was a middle-aged woman who had a stern look on her face. Dressed in a white healer's uniform, she fussed at her patient.
Rolling up the part of their clothing which exposed the midsection, she generously rubbed a copious amount of salve to help the boy's body heal the contusions that formed beneath his skin.
Turning her head, she gazed at the machine and rows of wires which connected her patient to the device. Finding that the reading was normal, she heaved a light sigh before checking the tubes that attached the injured boy to the medical apparatus.
After making sure that everything was working properly, she stood up, groaned about her weak knees, and entered the door to her office - on the right side of the room.
Once in her office, the middle-aged woman quickly arrived at her desk and sat down with a grunt. There, she turned her gaze toward the man seated opposite her. White hair, brown eyes, a slender frame with a scar that travelled down the left side of his face.
William, the Instructor and person responsible for running the Training Camp, scowled.
"How is his condition?" The white-haired man asked as he drummed his fingers on the table absentmindedly.
After being urgently summoned by a cleaner, William had walked into the lavatory and found Nico's battered figure lying on the floor. His keen eyes noted that there were several bloodstains on the otherwise pristine ground.
'Damned Nobles and their arrogance.' he thought. Even though the instructor was from a small-sized Noble family… well, he had stopped calling those hateful bastards family after they had abandoned him. He still detested how prideful certain members of the nobility could be.
Especially the Stanburg's.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Lucas had retaliated against Nico for going against his - and by extension - his family's will.
"His condition wasn't as bad as I initially feared. The contusions appear worse than they actually are and the swelling should die down after a day of rest. He can hopefully make a quick recovery and get back to training. With the Cleanser of World's blessing, of course." The woman clasped her hands together and prayed to the Transcendent being.
A small gust of wind kicked up in the room.
William rolled his eyes at her behaviour. He, personally, didn't care about the Transcendents who occupied the throne of dominion over all creation.
Although many worshipped only one being, the Temples had a tacit agreement with each other that worship of another Transcendent was acceptable, if done privately.
The Camp's healer was a tad too pious for his taste.
As long as she did her job well, William did not care about such trivial matters.
The instructor rubbed his chin, deep in thought. His fingers scratching the small amount of stubble that lined his skin.
If what she had said was true, then things weren't as bad as he first assumed. Sure, he would have to delay Nico's weapon instructor by a day, but that wasn't too hard. He just needed to offer a gift from his own pockets - which were lined with a lot of gold, courtesy of his time spent as a mercenary - as compensation.
William's face darkened as his thoughts turned toward Lucas and what to do with the troublesome boy. The white-haired man felt a headache coming on.
He couldn't reprimand him too harshly as the boy's status was enough to trump his own as a measly instructor hired by the Academy many times over.
Not to mention that he was a coreless human as well.
The white-haired instructor rubbed his temples and cursed the Nobles for a second time.
Truly, they were the bane of his existence.
***
'Where am I?'
Inside the infirmary bay, laying on a bed, a figure groaned before their eyelids fluttered open. Surrounded by darkness, it took them a moment to gain their bearings and suppress the instinctive panic one felt in the absence of light.
Once his head had cleared enough for him to think, Nico issued a painful grunt. His body felt like a truck had run it over. Gritting his teeth as the pain flared up after he suddenly sat up, Nico lay still.
He examined his surroundings with a curious glance once his pupils adjusted to the darkness.
From what he could tell, this wasn't the lavatory. The bed he was lying on simply proved that. Nico's eyes darted about the room taking in all its features - well as much as he could see in the darkness - which was to say, not much.
The only thing that he could perceive were vague, shadowy outlines of other beds placed in the room.
Instead, with a bit of thinking, Nico guessed he was in what seemed to be the Camp's infirmary.
He waited for a few minutes before tentatively calling out, "Hello. Anyone there?"
"Oh, you've woken up? Excellent. Thank the Cleanser of Worlds!" A voice exclaimed in surprise. Along with the sound, a draft of wind ruffled Nico's hair. Looking to the right, he squinted. Light suddenly streamed into his pupils from a lamp burning with amethyst fire.
The boy hurriedly closed his eyes.
Waiting a few seconds until the pain diminished and the intense glare of the brightness began fading, Nico opened his eyes. He got a good look at the occupant of the surprised voice.
Middle-aged, with streaks of grey lacing her brown hair that was put up in a bun. Her stern face had a few wrinkles, particularly at the corner of her eyes. "How are you feeling" the healer asked.
Getting a closer look at his body with the help of the amethyst flame, Nico raised an eyebrow. He received a glimpse of a few blackish-blue bruises that covered parts of his exposed skin.
Connected to his chest were a set of wires that looped back to the machine which stood beside his cot.
"I feel like I just got ran over by a truck…" Nico admitted. "Do I have any broken bones?" he asked. Based on the level of pain he was experiencing, Nico thought it slim that he had broken any.
"No, you have broken nothing. Just bruised black and blue. Honestly, young people these days. Here, drink this." the middle-aged woman offered him a drink and shook her head in exasperation. Accepting graciously, Nico gulped the drink down in one go.
The taste of citrus spread through his mouth.
The boy smacked his lips together.
"That should help ease the pain a little. Now, you need to rest!" the healer nagged and ordered the lanky teen to sleep. Nico wanted to protest that he had just woken up, but the woman was having none of it. She was as stubborn as a mule.
With a resigned sigh, the brown-haired boy carefully lowered his body and lay his head back on the pillow. His head a swarm of thoughts… most of them filled with anger, indignation and a desire to get back at Lucas for what he had done to him.
Revenge, however, would have to wait. Nico thought after gazing at the healer's stern eyes.
She bid him goodnight before blowing out the amethyst flame.
Darkness enveloped Nico once again.