Chapter 16
Chapter 016.
I opened my eyes to a dark surrounding.
As I tried to sit up with a faint groan, the surroundings brightened.
"You're awake?"
I sat up, watching Lenny rush towards me with wide eyes.
Contrary to what I expected, my heavy body staggered.
Familiar hands caught me as I was about to fall off the plush sofa and onto the floor.
"Don't get up. Lie down."
The quiet voice made me finally realize where I was.
"Jen."
Slowly, something soft was placed behind my back for support.
My eyes felt gritty, and my throat was hoarse.
I took the water offered right in front of me and took a sip. As the thirst subsided, my blurry vision began to clear.
"Drink it all."
After I drank until the bottom of the glass was visible, Vertein took my wrist.
"You seem better. Your pulse is a bit stronger than before."
At the same time, Jen placed a hand on my forehead.
I flinched at the lukewarm temperature of his hand, and he calmly added, "Your fever's gone down too."
I was the one who was bewildered.
I tilted my head at the talk of my fever going down and my pulse getting stronger. Lenny, who had been standing back, crossed her arms and sighed.
"I was worried. You suddenly collapsed."
"I did?"
As I rummaged through my hazy memories, the headache in the classroom came to mind.
Just like in the exam hall, the pain had long disappeared without a trace.
'That's strange. I even fainted.'
I didn't have any pre-existing conditions, nor was I physically weak.
This was the first time I had ever fainted from pain.
I tilted my head in wonder, and then Trevor flashed through my mind, his eyes wide open, black blood flowing, limbs trembling.
"Was the air in the exam hall bad?"
"Exam hall?"
"Yeah. Trevor collapsed like me."
To be exact, he was in a much more serious condition than I was.
Vertein asked, his smile gone from his face, "Trevor Beril? The guy who took the advancement exam with you?"
"Yes."
"Hmm."
I nodded, and then, feeling something strange in his natural question, I asked back.
"How did you know he took the advancement exam with me?"
"Reinia has the list of applicants for this advancement exam. I can know that much."
I was about to ask why she had that, but I stopped myself.
Come to think of it, she needed that list to do her gambling on me.
I was surprised once by my best friend's meticulousness, and then I felt dizzy at Vertein's nonchalant pretense of not knowing.
'Vertein, weren't you in the disciplinary committee?'
Lenny reached out and tidied my messy hair.
She looked quite upset.
"What is this, trying to take an exam and this happens."
"I know."
I couldn't figure it out at all.
Just in case, I touched the tip of my nose, but there was no blood on my hand.
I did have a pretty bad headache, but that was all.
I heard I had fainted, but other than feeling heavy, as if I had slept for a long time, I didn't hurt anywhere.
"Do you know what condition Trevor is in?"
"I don't know. Did he faint like you too?"
It seemed everyone had been tight-lipped about Trevor's situation more than I thought.
It was something that could have spread as a rumor among the students, but Lenny didn't seem to know.
"He collapsed while vomiting blood. The professor gave him first aid, but it didn't seem to stop the bleeding.
His condition was serious, so I think he was moved somewhere else, but I don't know exactly, so I'm asking."
Vertein was lost in thought before he raised his head and asked.
"Black blood?"
"Yes."
"Hmm."
He seemed to have an idea as he stared at me intently. I slightly raised my body, and something fell from my neck with a thud.
I saw my locket necklace, completely black as if it had been burned.
Blinking, I reached out and touched it, and it crumbled into dust.
"Why is this..."
Jen took the object from me as I blinked and panicked, and asked, "Have you ever felt any pain? Or a strange feeling?"
"I had a bit of a headache. In the middle. But I'm fine now."
As I answered in a daze, Jen looked at Vertein.
He looked at me with a heavy face and nodded.
"I think you're right."
"What's right?"
I asked, feeling frustrated at the three people exchanging glances, excluding me.
Lenny came over and hugged me tightly.
"See? I told you. The world is a scary place. You have to be careful of even an ant passing by."
"To think something like this would happen inside the Academy."
Vertein muttered at Lenny's incomprehensible words.
While hugging Lenny, who was clinging to me, I awkwardly looked at Jen, who showed me the blackened object and answered my question.
"I layered protective magic on an object that had been blessed. It protects the wearer by reversing the power of anyone who attacks you. Usually, magic can't block even Curse type, but this is special. Because it contains Divine power."
"Divine power is contained...?"
It was a series of confusions.
Wasn't that just a Portable locket for communication?
Lenny's sly smile as she handed it over, saying it was a prototype made by the merchant guild, came to mind.
At that time, Lenny had clearly introduced it as a communication necklace.
"Wasn't this just a Communication device?"
My friends answered my confused question.
"It's a Communication device."
"A Communication device with good performance and sacred power."
"Should I say it's a Communication device with all my heart and sincerity?"
I quietly detached Lenny and looked at the blackened object in Jen's palm.
Then I looked at Lenny, who was looking at me with an innocent face, Vertein, who was smiling gently as if he had done nothing wrong, and Jen, who was holding his chin up proudly as if asking what the problem was.
"Why is Divine power contained in a Communication device? What do you mean by blocking a curse?"
"I tried so hard to layer Divine power and magic at the same time. I used ground and melted magic stones with gold on the outside to completely separate the inside and outside of the locket. And I used a Baptism cloth blessed by God on the inside."
I felt dizzy at Lenny's excited explanation.
It was a completely different kind of headache from the one I had earlier.
"I was going to carve Rune word on it, but I stopped myself. I was afraid you'd find out."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"If I had told you, you wouldn't have worn it."
That was the correct answer.
If it had been such an object, I would never have carried it around with me.
I froze at the amazing and terrifying fact I had just learned.
Vertein looked at me and offered me water with a pitiful smile.
"Oh dear. You were surprised. Have another glass."
I took the water he offered and stared blankly at the locket. Jen urged me.
"Drink it all."
"..."
"Hurry."
I stiffly turned my head to the side and asked Vertein.
"Is this not water?"
"It's water."
"Holy water is basically water too."
I quietly put down the cup, and Jen firmly placed it back in my hand and said.
"Drink it. You can't leave here until you drink it all."
What are you, imprisoning someone and feeding them Holy water?
I gave up and brought the shimmering Holy water to my lips.
It had been refreshing my parched throat just a moment ago, but now, every time I drank, worry and grief were added.
"Holy water isn't important right now."
Even the priest who bestows blessings uses Holy water sparingly, drop by drop, and you're giving me two glasses and saying it's not important.
Then what is important?
"The problem is that someone attacked Merian, and it was such a powerful attack that she collapsed from the backlash."
Lenny's words brought me back to my senses.
Come to think of it, the state of the locket must have been related to my headache or fainting.
"You said that guy Trevor collapsed while vomiting black blood, right?"
"Yes."
"I think he's the most likely suspect. He was in the same place as you at a similar time, and he suffered internal injuries from something. That kind of symptom occurs when you receive a Curse type."
I was puzzled by Vertein's words.
I understood why he suspected him, but Trevor had no motive to harm me like that.
In the first place, what could an honor student like Trevor Beril, who was praised by everyone, gain from harming an inconspicuous person like me?
"I don't understand."
"I understand."
Lenny sat down next to me with a thud and muttered seriously.
"In the world of the survival of the fittest, you always hit the weak first. Of course, Merian is by no means weak, but she looks weak, so he might have mistaken her..."
"So you're saying he attacked me first because I looked easy?"
Lenny smiled sheepishly.
"I'm saying it might look that way."
"There are so many students there. What movie would he enjoy by getting rid of me?"
"He might have wanted something else. Did he say anything to you or anything?"
Vertein's words reminded me that we had the same research topic.
Jen, seeing my hesitation, slowly rotated his wrist.
I was speechless at his act of clenching and unclenching his fist as if imagining something.
"Okay. We'll get the answer if we beat that bastard."
"He was taken away because he was sick. How do you know where he went?"
Vertein kindly answered my words.
"We can track him. If it's Curse type, we can estimate the location through this locket."
Jen lowered his voice fiercely and said.
"We need to track him down, beat him up, and get the information we need."
"It's a crime. What are you going to do if you get caught later?"
Jen glanced at me and added.
"I can also handle the body."
Is that why you learned magic?
Jen is the type to do what he says.
I looked at Lenny in the sense of asking her to stop him, and she held out her hand to Jen with a serious face.
"Hey, beat him up and contact me later. If an investigation comes out, I'll bribe them to shut them up."
What a terrible conversation.
Vertein, who met my eyes, smiled like an angel and added.
"If you have any problems, contact me.
I'll cover the place where the body stayed with Divine power so that there are no traces of magic or assault."
'Aren't you ashamed of God as a Holy Knight who has also been baptized?'
I waited for my violent friends to calm down.
Even though the aftermath of the curse must have been over, my eyes, ears, and mind were tired.
Still, it was clear that this was not a problem that I could simply bury alone.
"See? The world is too dangerous. We need something better than this for our Merian to survive."
"Don't do that."
"Let's make a lot of money and make better protective accessories!"
"I told you not to."
I closed my eyes tightly and protested, but Lenny didn't seem to hear me.
The problem was that the other two next to me were looking at me with similar eyes to Lenny.
'The world is a very dangerous place, so I'm going to give you a better object.'
I wanted to tell them that the three of you were the most dangerous.
"To Merian, this time, the Ten holy relics of the continent!"
I was exhausted at the voice of my best friend shouting.
I just wanted to go home.
