Within a peaceful infirmary, a man sat in front of a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy. The man was none other than Ragnar, the Principal of Ascension Academy while the boy was Raze, who had just regained consciousness.
Nearly a day had passed since the battle and during that time, Ragnar hadn't left Raze's side even once, choosing instead to meditate inside the infirmary for the entire day.
Such a short span of time was no more than a passing second to someone like him, someone who had already reached the Ascendant Rank in martial arts, the second-highest rank that existed in this world.
Normally, someone like Raze wouldn't have mattered much to him, but the energy he had emitted, even if only for a few seconds, had genuinely amused him to make him stay.
Raze's eyes slowly opened, his vision blurred at first before gradually focusing on the unfamiliar white ceiling above him.
His body felt heavy, every muscle aching as if he had been trampled by a herd of stampeding beasts but the pain was manageable, dulled by what he assumed was some kind of healing magic or medicine.
He tried to sit up but his arms trembled under his own weight.
"Easy there, kiddo." A familiar voice came from his right. "You have been out for a full day and your body is still recovering."
Raze turned his head and saw him, Principal Ragnar, sitting casually in a chair beside his bed with his feet up on a small table. The man was smoking a cigar, the smoke drifting lazily out of the window without going anywhere else as if it had will of its own.
When a person reached the demi-god ranks in martial arts, every word they spoke carried a fragment of their will, making it far more imposing than that of ordinary people. Raze felt it clearly, the immense aura Ragnar unconsciously radiated but he had experienced far worse from his mother. So, he ignored it and kept his calm.
Raze didn't respond immediately either, instead he forced his broken body to sit up properly before glancing around the clean and sterile room which clearly looked to be part of some high-end medical facility.
"Where am I, sir?" Raze asked politely.
"You are in Ascension Academy's medical wing." Ragnar replied, taking another drag from his cigar. "The best healers in the kingdom work here so you are in good hands."
Raze nodded slowly as memories of the battle flooded back, the mage, the desperate attack, the dark energy that had erupted from within him and the moment he had asked Ragnar to spare his enemy.
"Lyla… Ellara…" Raze muttered. "Are they okay?"
Ragnar's expression softened slightly.
"They are fine. The other girl, Lyla is still recovering but she will pull through and Ellara is already up and about, worried sick about you." He paused. "And I didn't kill your enemy either."
Raze didn't show any expression on his face as he bowed slightly towards the man.
"Thank you for saving us, sir." He said politely.
"Hoho, but what makes you think I saved you, huh?" Ragnar said with sharp eyes as his aura intensified. "What if I plan to kill you?"
Raze's body stiffened immediately as sweat rolled down his forehead, his mouth went dry and his heart pounded violently. Still, he didn't let the fear show on his face.
"You are immensely stronger than me, sir." Raze replied calmly. "If you wished to kill me, you wouldn't have brought me to the infirmary and even if you decided to kill me now, I wouldn't be able to resist anyway. So, I can only assume you saved us."
Ragnar chuckled after a pause before he started speaking. "You are smart for someone who has lost his memories."
Raze understood that Ellara and Lyla might have already told Ragnar about him.
"Thanks for the praise, sir." He replied after a moment.
For a moment, silence filled the room as Ragnar simply observed him with an unreadable expression while Raze simply waited, knowing something else was coming and then, Ragnar finally leaned forward slightly.
"I want to ask you something, kid." Ragnar said, his tone more serious now. "That energy you released during the fight, what was it?"
Raze had expected this question but that didn't make it any easier to answer as he didn't even fully understand what had happened himself.
Raze looked straight into Ragnar's eyes. "I don't know, sir."
Ragnar studied him for a long moment and Raze could feel the weight of the man's scrutiny as if he was trying to see through every layer, to find the truth under but then, unexpectedly, Ragnar leaned back in his chair and chuckled.
"Fair enough." He said casually. "I'm not gonna force you to talk about something you don't want to and honestly, even if you did know, it's your business."
Raze blinked, surprised by such a response.
"You're not going to press further?" He asked.
Ragnar shrugged. "Why would I pressure a kid? Everyone's got their secrets, kid and you have earned the right to keep yours but do hide your secrets well because not everyone you meet would be like me."
He stood up, stretching lazily before extinguishing his cigar in a nearby ashtray.
Raze meanwhile didn't know how to respond to that.
Ragnar turned toward the door but paused before leaving as he glanced back at Raze with a thoughtful expression.
"Ahh, right," Ragnar said. "I have something to give you."
He reached into his coat and tossed something across the room. It floated through the air with unnatural precision and settled gently into Raze's hand.
A golden shield badge.
"This is the registration batch for the academy's entrance exam which will take place in two days?"
Raze looked down at it for a moment before Ragnar's voice pulled his attention back.
"If you don't have anywhere else to stay, you can stay in the infirmary till then because I am sure, you will become a student here soon anyway."
Raze hesitated but accepted the badge without protest because getting into the academy was his goal all along anyway.
"Thank you very much for all the help, sir." He said finally.
Ragnar smirked. "Don't worry about it."
With that, he opened the door and stepped out, leaving Raze alone in the quiet infirmary.
Raze sat there for a moment, processing everything as his body still ached and his mind still reeling from the events of the past day but for the first time since waking up, he allowed himself to relax.
He was alive and he was finally close to his goal and that was enough for now.
Just then, something flickering at the edge of his vision.
A few translucent windows appeared before him, hovering in the air. These were the status windows from the world's will, the ones he had ignored during the battle.
He stared at them for a moment before finally focusing his attention on the first one.
It was time to see what the world wanted to tell him.