Liano woke up, once again in the infirmary, but this time he was bound with bandages around his waist, feet, and neck. It took him a few moments to get used to the light and his surroundings before noticing two familiar figures: Healer Dreya and Old Man Ester. Immediately, he pretended to fall back asleep by closing his eyes and stopping all movement. "No way I'm listening to them lecture me, especially those two, and especially not when I can't even run away...", he thought.
Meanwhile, Dreya was speaking with the village chief, Ester.
"It seems his wounds reopened, but he's recovering well. We could even say he's recovering faster than usual. It must be his core or his magic, one of the two," said Dreya.
"Yes, his core is fully awakened, and according to the guard, he managed to create a spell that nearly cost him his life. We're going to have to have a discussion about that," Ester replied.
"Are you talking about the fact that he's a fully-fledged initiate and that you're going to allow him to venture into zone 2 and stop overprotecting him? I understand it's the rules to let them fend for themselves once they're initiated, but knowing little Liano, he's going to get himself killed on his first mission."
"It's a fundamental rule of the clan. If he's not able to handle the consequences, that's his problem. We've been far too lenient with him since he was little. Now, real life awaits him, playtime is over!"
"Yes, as you say, playtime is over," Dreya looked at little Liano. "Get up, we know you're awake." She moved beside him and smashed his face and mouth against the table where he was lying.
"Stop, you're going to kill me! Can't you see I'm injured and sleeping? You shouldn't touch someone who's injured, especially when they're sleeping, it's a basic rule!" shouted Liano, trying to headbutt the healer.
Needless to say, he received a few more blows to calm him down from Dreya. She then turned to Ester and said, "Old man, take good care of him, because the next time he comes, he'll have to pay like all the other initiates." She left, speaking loudly so that Liano could hear well.
This was followed by a long series of reprimands. Between two severe scoldings, Liano closed his eyes, feigning fatigue, only to have Ester press on his wounds.
Once the reprimands were over, Ester began to analyze Liano's core. He noticed that the core was in good condition, neither injured nor weakened. As for his body, he observed that in the few hours since the core's awakening, Liano had gained some muscle. Indeed, this was one of the core's properties: it unlocked mana and magic for its possessor, but also allowed him to gain strength, agility, endurance, and vitality. The more a mage increased his core, the greater and more visible the benefits. Observing the black mark on Liano's left hand, Old Man Ester focused further.
"This is definitely your magic. I recognize your mana signature in it. It's the same as your core's," he said pensively, looking at the mark and then at Liano.
Liano had stopped struggling since Old Man Ester had started talking about his core. "Ah, finally a conversation that interests me, he took longer than expected to get to it...", thought Liano.
"You must be proud of yourself, little devil. You got what you wanted. I must say, I didn't expect to see you back having already manifested your first spell." Ester refocused on the black mark, which looked more like a tattoo.
"Grandpa, grandpa, did you see how cool it is! I have magic," said Liano, straining to lift his head despite the bindings to see the tattoo. "And it's so cool, now I have a black tattoo on my hand! What did I tell you, Grandpa? I knew my magic would be better than yours!"
"Besides, you, we never see when you do magic. It's boring, you're not cool," added Liano in a low voice, pretending to hide his mouth to speak.
Ester, focused, was carefully observing the mark. Once his vision was on the mark, you could see his concentration at its peak. Old Man Ester was generally a calm mage in everyday life, except when pushed too far; then, he would turn red and start shouting like a madman. His pastime in the village was reading old books, always accompanied by his smoking pipe. But analyzing the mark, it was no longer the same Ester, it was the old Ester who had taken over at that moment! His attitude was entirely different. He activated his core and began to really inspect the mark with his own magic. You saw him like this on very rare occasions, and Liano knew it. In the village, when Liano talked with what he called the alcoholic adepts, he didn't understand why everyone respected Old Man Ester so much. The other adepts, even drunk, kept telling him he really needed to stop underestimating Ester. They told him a story about Old Man Ester, the village chief.
The adepts and some guards said that when Old Man Ester was still an adept, he had a certain reputation in the clan and was nicknamed Ester the God-Eyed. That day, Liano remembered, he had been excited upon hearing that nickname. To him, a God nickname must signify an absolute being who could defeat anyone with a single move. When he was told that Ester's magic, or rather God-Eyed Ester's magic, allowed him to analyze and understand magics at a glance, he was disappointed. "Darn God, if he can't even fight, what's the point of his magic, it's lame, he doesn't deserve the God nickname."
That evening, Liano only blasphemed against the image of Old Man Ester who wasn't there. The other clan members tried to make him admit his foolishness, but Liano wouldn't hear of it. A magic that just lets you see well is a crappy magic and not cool at all! But among all the arguments he received to counter him, he remembered one clearly, as if it was yesterday: it was the chief guard who told him.
"Kid, show respect to the village elders, and also beware of old men in a profession where men generally die young. I've seen mages with devastating magics, and even among them, most are dead. One doesn't become village chief by chance, everything is earned within Arcanix!" When Chief Guard Claus said that, even the adepts fell silent and a hush fell over the tavern.
Those words and the pressure Claus exuded, Liano hadn't forgotten them. It conveyed a sense of danger he sometimes felt in his forest adventures facing aggressive beasts. His instinct told him to flee this person, and Liano always listened to his instinct, it was what had allowed him to live so long anyway.
Now lying on the table next to Old Man Ester, Liano felt that pressure again, that aura telling him this man was different. He stayed there, mouth open, half-drooling, watching Old Man Ester analyze. The village chief's eyes were wide open, exuding a very intense white aura. This lasted a few minutes. Then the atmosphere returned to normal, and Old Man Ester resumed his usual behavior. He looked at Liano with a broad smile and said, "What an interesting magic, as complex as you are thoughtless. It must be fate that you inherited this power!" laughing out loud at the end of his sentence.
Liano snapped out of his stupor and said, "What do you mean, old man? Do you know my power? Tell me, what is it? I want to know, stop leaving!" He struggled and shouted at Old Man Ester.
Ester barely turned and said in an amused tone, "Oh, but you said it yourself, I'm just an old man. How could I know your power?" laughing even more behind his blue cloak and mage hat.
Ester left. Liano remained there, shouting before realizing that if he left, no one would be able to free him from his bindings. He started shouting even louder, but it was too late, he was all alone in the healer's hut, with no one to free him.
Liano, alone in the healer's hut, began to struggle frantically. He tried to tear the bandages with his teeth, but they were too tough. Then, he attempted to rub the ties against the edge of the table, hoping to wear them down, but it only exhausted him further. Next, he tried to use his weight to tip the table over, hoping to free himself in the fall, but he was securely bound, and the table didn't budge an inch.
After many futile efforts, Liano started to succumb to fatigue. He felt exhausted and eventually fell asleep a few minutes later, in a heavy sleep. A short time passed before he woke up with a start, screaming in pain. He looked around and realized he was still in the hut, still bound, but this time, an enormous tree trunk was crushing his waist and legs. The trunk was large enough to cover his entire lower body, with a meter floating in the air. It looked strangely like the trees in the forest, but this one seemed dry and completely withered, as if it had rotted on the ground for months.
Liano struggled and screamed to free himself or push the tree trunk off, but it was too heavy. With his limbs bound, he couldn't extricate himself from this situation. He tried pushing the trunk with his legs, lifting it with his hips, but nothing worked. He was trapped.
Shortly after, he heard Dreya's voice yelling at him to stop howling like an animal as she entered the hut.
"Old witch, get
me out of here! I'm being crushed! Don't you feel ashamed abusing me? I'm still injured and I already told you not to wake a sleeping man!!!" shouted Liano with all the strength of his lungs.
Dreya looked at him for a moment, then rushed to his side. She lifted the trunk as if it were a mere piece of wood and tossed it aside. Liano kept moaning before realizing the trunk was no longer on him and Dreya was healing him. He watched Dreya use her magic, enjoying the pleasant sensation of healing.
"Your magic is handy, being able to heal us. I'm not saying it's as cool as mine, but at least it's practical. I approve of your magic!" said Liano with a smile.
Dreya gave him a sideways glance with a frightening look, and Liano immediately calmed down. "Note to self, better not upset the hand that heals me..." he thought.
Speaking of that, he looked at his left hand where his famous black tattoo was, and... Liano remained stoic, then suddenly turned pale. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"My tattoo!! It's gone! Old witch, it's all your fault! You crushed me with that tree trunk, and now I don't have any magic left!!" shouted Liano breathlessly, with real anger. He had already forgotten his previous note to himself...
Dreya pinned him back onto the table and said, "Don't move, or I'll put the wood back over your head," with a piercing look. Liano calmed down instantly, fearing for his handsome face.
"And stop talking nonsense. Your core is just fine," added Dreya, continuing to heal him with her magic.
Liano, still scared, kept quiet. But he couldn't help but stare at his hand, where the tattoo had disappeared. His mind buzzed with questions and worries. Dreya, meanwhile, continued her healing work, ensuring Liano's wounds closed properly.