Confirmations (I)

  >>>>>>>--------<<<<<<

  July 29, Central Year 119

  On the upper floors of Babel Medical, there was a curious scene unfolding in one of the intensive care rooms.

  “Ow! Ca-Carissa isn’t that too much?”

  “Oh be quiet. You should be thanking me for going through all this trouble. You have no idea how hard it is to come across these things, or how expensive they are.” She emphasized one of those words so strongly that it sent a shiver down Cyril's spine.

  “Ghhrk!”

  He was sitting atop the bed, shirtless and facing away from her so she could treat the burn marks scattered all over his back. Her brows twitched a little every time her eyes strayed on the dark spots for too long, so to avoid that she was doing her very best to mask that unease by fortifying her focus.

  On paper it seemed like a good idea, but every time she soaked the puffy piece of cotton with the contents of the small plastic bottle in her hands, her forceful application caused nothing but agony for her simplistic patient.

  Carissa repeated her approach, earning yet another shriek from the shirtless youngster. A little teary eyed, Cyril slowly turned around and whispered: “I-its a good thing you became a teacher instead of a nurse huh?”

  A bold move.

  However, the only thing it earned him was another dose of that electric sensation.

  “Acck!! Okay, Okay, my bad!” He pleaded, raising his hands. With his back turned to her like that it really was a true gesture of submission.

  Sighing a little, Cyril’s caretaker sealed the bottle and set it aside before tossing away the small piece of cotton.

  “It’s done.” she stated wearily.

  “Finally.”

  Cyril slowly slid off the bed and began examining himself in the vertical mirror stuck to the adjacent wall. "I’m guessing this ointment is another one of your miraculous recovery items. Hopefully, this one actually works." He said, tilting his head back. For as long as he could remember, Carissa had been obsessively diligent about keeping a few potions on hand for him, despite their near-total lack of effect.

  "No, the ointment has nothing to do with magic. If you ignore the price and the hype around its effectiveness, it’s just a regular burn treatment. I got it from Doctor Miller—he said it should be enough to treat your burn marks. It would've been a lot easier if we could just use a potion, but they don’t work on you. Your doctor said, ‘Your body will handle the rest,’ so I’m guessing your scars will fade on their own.” Carissa explained from her favored position, the small seat that practically never left his bedside.

  [Notice. Cyril, her assessment is correct. Your extra skill, Life Surge, has a passive effect that significantly reduces your expected recovery times. Scars of this degree will not take hold.]

  I see. That is convenient...I’ll test out the other skills as soon as I get out of here.

  [Understood]

  "Carissa, aren’t you upset about this?" Cyril asked nervously, fiddling with his shirt before putting it on.

  She raised a brow.

  “No there’s no need for that. We went over it a few hours ago, so you could say I’ve already made my peace with the idea. That doesn’t mean I’m not worried, but I do understand the kind of situations you’ll be getting yourself into from now on. And besides, trouble found you this time, didn’t it?”

  “I suppose it did.” Cyril answered calmly.

  Visions from that deathmatch still rang vividly in his mind.

  It was natural to encounter monsters inside the dungeons or even out in the city if there was ever a breach, but this was different. The infernal wasn’t just an ordinary monster, it was a hardened killer sent specifically to target him on the orders of the operator.

  His fists tightened instinctively.

  He wasn't sure if it was because the operator still had the power to manipulate his surroundings, or because it did so without regard for anyone else. The very thought of either case ringing true left a bitter taste in his mouth.

  “Cyril?”

  “Hm?”

  “Were you listening?”

  Carissa’s words rang heavy. He awkwardly looked away before replying “Not really.”

  “I knew it.” She retorted, crossing her leg impatiently. “I was talking about your fight with that monster, the infernal. Its going viral on the net—apparently, some idiot decided it was a good idea to sneak out and record the whole thing.”

  “For real? Things could get annoying if that happens. Guilds tend to eat that kind of news up.” He said, adjusting the oversized sterile clothing. “Can I see it?”

  “Sure, take a moment to enjoy your seconds of fame.” Carissa said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she handed him the phone to him. Cyril accepted the device with an empty gaze, then examined the titular red and white app displaying the video.

  “T-Ten million views?! It's only been a few hours...this is insane.” the device wobbled unsteadily in his hands, mimicking the nervous tremor in his fingertips.

  Carissa chuckled weakly and settled an accusing finger on him.

  “You know, most deviants your age would kill to get that kind of attention. Getting a provisional hunter license and joining a guild is all the rage with you youngsters these days, though I doubt anyone will recognize you with that appearance.”

  “I'm not interested in any of that though.” Cyril mumbled dismissively and returned the phone. “Now that whole sensation of a fresh start is gone, this is definitely going to end up being a pain later on.”

  “Now, Now,” Carissa clapped her hands. “Things like this tend to fade with time, that’s just the internet. Besides its practically summer now, I highly doubt your classmates will remember anything about this by the time the new semester starts.”

  “Wise words, my dear teacher. I hope you're right about that, finishing my curriculum early is already bringing more than enough attention my way.”

  “I guarantee it.” Carissa replied confidently, waving away the thought.

  For a split second, her blatant bravado actually struck a chord with him. As soon as the gnawing sensation was about to completely fade from his mind however, there was a knock on the door.

  Shifting his head a little, Cyril answered instantly, seeming like a psychic. “Come in Chairman."

  The sterile door slid open to reveal two familiar faces. The first was a middle-aged man with withered grey hair and unnaturally sharp features for his age. The second was an older woman with the gentle appearance of a kind grandmother, dressed in a fashionable bodice and a wide-brimmed hat. The auburn hue of her hair had softened with age, though it hadn't yet faded completely, suggesting she was a few years younger than the man accompanying her.

  “Director Wilhelm and....Principal Dawkins?”

  The conspicuous duo left him at a loss for words, he and Carissa both exchanged blank stares with each other first, then with their visitors.

  “Morning you two. It’s been a while huh?” the old woman said, greeting them with a slow wave from her gloved hand. “Cyril, I must say, I'm a bit surprised you detected the chairman's presence but not mine. Is it because I haven't been making my usual rounds at the school lately?”

  “No, not at all principal. The chairman’s aura is just a lot easier to pick up on that’s all.”

  “That is true.” Replied the principal, turning to her companion. “You never were one for subtlety Wilhelm.”

  “Spare me Olivia, now isn’t the time.” the chairman answered indifferently.

  “Well, I suppose not. We came here to speak to these two after all.”

  “The two of us?” Carissa was in no way completely calm after running into two of her employers in a hospital room of all places, but her uncertainty was only being made clear now. It was practically seeping through her voice.

  “That’s right, we’d like to speak with you both. Truthfully, I should have stopped by earlier but I lost track of time between all the media runs and sorting out the survivors from the ‘Phantom Purge’ incident. Nevertheless, I apologize for my lateness.” Wilhelm’s voice was sharp, but the tonality was kind. It wasn’t necessary to consider the authenticity of his words.

  “Carissa, since you’re looking after Cyril now, we figured it would be relatively easy to kill two birds with one stone, so here we are. As I’m sure you can guess we’ve come to discuss recent events.” Olivia explained succinctly.

  “I more or less expected it chairman—actually your timing is perfect, I’ve been wanting to speak with you too.” Unlike before, a focused spark ignited in Cyril’s eyes, one that made the Wilhelm chuckle.

  “Good. Then I suppose we can begin the discussion immediately, but first...” he trailed off to tussle a strand of his withering grey hair. “...congratulations Cyril, now we match.” He said, smirking deviously.

  Whilst feigning a nervous laugh, Cyril had a thought, one he wasn’t going to say out loud.

  There’s no way my hair is that withered.

  He thought he heard a snicker come from Carissa, but the chairman’s voice summoned him before he could confirm it.

  "Alright, make yourself comfortable. I want to know everything that happened, starting from the incident with the phantom room up until your recent fight with the infernal—the one that’s currently going viral. It’s drawing a lot of attention to you, and I don’t think it’ll die down anytime soon. It’s working our media department to the bone, so I’d at least like to have all the details."

  Cyril’s head drooped a little after hearing the chairman’s pragmatic assessment. Recalling her words from earlier, Cyril glanced at Carissa only for her dissuade him with a plastic smile and the slow shaking of her head.

  Stolen story; please report.

  So much for her guarantee He thought, chuckling to himself.

  [Notice. It would be in your best interest to omit the details about your encounter with the operator from your recollection. It will exempt you from the interference of unrelated third parties.]

  I was planning to. The researchers here would have a field day if they heard about that, and unfortunately, I've had enough of them messing around with my body.

  [Understood. You may proceed.]

  To the others present; the deep breath he just took made it seem as though Cyril was preparing himself for a bitter recollection that no normal person would have an easy time recounting, but that was only half the truth. In reality, he was assembling the meticulous cover-up he had spent days crafting beforehand, skimming over the details like a child cramming for a test.

  Thanks to his earlier practice, it didn't take long.

  “After we entered the gate....”

  >>>>>>--------<<<<<<<

  “My, that’s a lot to take in.” Olivia Dawkins sighed a little, mulling over the heavy contents of their conversation.

  “A mysterious Titan-class monster and a drug that boosts a hunter's power, is it? Looks like my hunch was right after all.”

  Surprise was of course the natural reaction to the boy's story, but that reaction wasn’t evenly distributed among them. Carissa’s expression lost a considerable amount of the vigor flowing through it, her lips parted from the shock, quivering unnaturally as if struggling to form words. Upon seeing her expression, Cyril found himself feeling oddly relieved about his decision to omit a good fifty percent of the actual story, particularly the details regarding the boss.

  “I’m fine, Carissa. You don’t have to look so sullen.” Cyril told her with a wry smile. Although brusque, it was enough to silence her and bring some color back to her face. “I-I wasn’t being sullen, that was just a lot to process, especially the part about what Evan did to you....”

  “If you say so.”

  Olivia’s chuckle interrupted them." At least you still have your spunk Cyril, if nothing else that alone warrants praise.”

  “So I’ve been told principal. I wouldn’t want my esteemed teacher to get all mopey because of me.”

  Sensing the intensifying pressure from her glare, Cyril happily withdrew all further remarks relating to his rigid caretaker. Luckily for him, Wilhelm’s voice came to the rescue.

  “Truth be told, Cyril, I'm more interested in that drug than the incident with the phantom room. It's regrettable, but that's just how dungeons are—unpredictable situations are bound to pop up every now and then. The drug, on the other hand, is a different story. It's something that's actively being manufactured and distributed within the city.”

  Since it was a drug, that was to be expected and yet, he couldn’t help but cast a hesitant glance at the metropolitan skyline, dotted by a sparse array of giant metal towers.

  “Before the incident with your group, Longinus had been sharing strange reports with us about deviants going berserk from some kind of drug, though those cases were few and far between. But now that they're using it inside the dungeons, it falls squarely under the association's responsibility. While you were resting here, we even managed to pin down its name. They call it Nectar.”

  “Nectar huh? That’s hardly a fitting name.”

  Olivia—gesturing dismissively—agreed.

  “That drug is relatively new, so there’s not much information on it yet. The other survivors—especially Marcel—have been thoroughly questioned, but as you can imagine, it hasn’t amounted to much. Whenever these incidents happen inside a dungeon, they tend to become a battle of accusations and assumptions without any hard evidence. Another hunter, Shaw, has provided a testimony against Marcel, but he’s claiming that his instructor consumed the drug on his own. Including your testimony, that’s practically all we have to go on. And given that Marcel is from an origin clan with its own guild branch here, I doubt the investigation will get very far.”

  Wilhelm finished his assessment with a grumpy intonation. Being the chairman of the hunter association did grant him an immense amount of power and privilege, but not to the extent where he could simply go and carelessly toss his influence around, especially when certain foreign interests were involved.

  “I figured as much. That guy tends to have a lot of sway when it comes to these things.” Cyril explained dully, casting a dry look out the window.

  “Carissa.” Wilhelm said, settling his gaze on the young enchanter.

  “Yes?”

  “We’re looking into the branch of the phoenix guild that's stationed here to find any evidence linking Marcel to that drug. It seems they’ve recently scouted you into their ranks, so I'd like to know if you have any information to share about that drug—Nectar.”

  “I haven’t heard anything about a drug per se but...” she paused briefly, scrolling her eyes over to Cyril before continuing. “.... Rumors have been going around the guild about a mysterious hunter by the name of ‘scarecrow’. They say he has some kind of special elixir that's supposed to increase a hunter's power severalfold, but nobody really knows his identity because he wears a mask.”

  Wilhelm’s eyes sharpened.

  “Oh? That does sound a bit curious. I’ll look into that hunter when I get back, thank you for the information, Carissa.”

  “Not a problem.” Carissa replied, her tone unnaturally smooth.

  Seeing her like that reminded Cyril of just how much of a professional she truly was.

  “This is certainly an interesting situation. I can’t tell if I’m supposed to be shocked or mortified, but based on that expression Cyril, it seems as though you’re taking the news quite well.” Olivia piped up, re-establishing her presence to prevent it from fading any further.

  “It comes with experience principal. Marcel and I have something of a rough history, so I have a good grasp on the situation.”

  “I’ve heard a little about it.” Olivia said, stepping closer. “But that's not what I’m here to discuss today. Since it looks like good Ol’ Wilhelm here has hit a wall, I’ll be taking charge for a little while. You don’t mind me checking up on members of my institution, right?”

  She threw the question at the chairman who—as Cyril expected— replied indifferently.

  “I don’t mind.” Wilhelm worded before slowly shifting his eyes to the only actual patient in the room. “Cyril, I know this is sudden and all but I’ll need you to come by the hunter association’s headquarters as soon as you get discharged. I need to confirm something, can you manage that?”

  “It won’t be a problem. Dr. Miller said I should be out soon.”

  “Good. I’ll be expecting you.” Smiling softly, Wilhelm stepped back and murmured, "I'll go first," to Olivia before disappearing through the sliding door.

  Watching him go, the principal nodded contently.

  “Now then, as I was saying my dear. I’m not here to confront you on any formal matters or anything like that since its almost summer. The first thing I want to do is congratulate you on your recovery. I was a little worried when you requested to take advancement exams for the sake of making time for the final assessment and rightfully so it seems. In only a week you’ve had two of the biggest near death misses I’ve seen in years.”

  Her words rested heavy on his heart. He knew Olivia long enough to register the sincerity in those words, even if they were buried under a mound of her usual aura of regal aloofness.

  “Sorry for worrying you again.” Cyril responded, lowering his head a little.

  Olivia crossed the meager distance separating them to rustle the strands of silver on his head.

  “This is a really nice color. It suits you.”

  “Principal?”

  “Relax, Cyril. I’m not blaming you; no one is. The risk of danger and death comes naturally with being a hunter, we all understand that. It doesn’t mean we’ll stop worrying entirely but if that's the path you’ve decided to walk then we can’t stop you, right Carissa?” Olivia smugly remarked, delighted after seeing the sheen of red forming on Carissa’s face.

  “Now then that brings me to my second reason for visiting you, Cyril.” She brought out a small clutch bag and after skimming through it discreetly, her hand came away with two mismatched items.

  "That's..."

  "A manadite core."

  Cyril struggled to get the words out, and Carissa unintentionally finished for him.

  It had the shape of a marble, but was several times larger, to the point where it perfectly spanned the width of a palm. The core glowed with a radiant gem-yellow color, pulsing with a fearsome aura that was only being suppressed by the lack of intent to direct it.

  “Heh; yes precisely. I’m not sure why you’re so surprised since you earned this core yourself. It was inside the infernal you defeated a few hours ago, but for some reason, you neglected to retrieve it.”

  She’s seen the video too. He thought to himself. Whatever repercussions were set to come from that video weren’t bothering him all that much now; not when the spoils of his efforts were presented to him.

  “I was too worn out to move for a while so it must have slipped my mind.” he retorted, shamefully scratching his head.

  [Notice. Prudence is of the essence in such matters.]

  You too Aria?

  “These things go for a lot of money so I suggest you be more careful next time. Fortunately for you, luck was on your side this time around, someone was kind enough to ask me to give it to you.” Olivia added, her voice tinged with both amusement and caution.

  Attention roused; Cyril raised a brow.

  “I’m sure you’re struggling to pin a face to it.” Smiling faintly, she took Cyril’s palm and placed the sphere into his hand; it fit perfectly. He could feel the power surging within the small sphere, its light shimmering brilliantly in his purple irises. Like a curious child, he tightened his grip on the powerful object, and allowed himself to briefly relish the sensation of his victory.

  “Here’s the other gift.” Olivia said, passing him a small transparent bag. Surprisingly, its contents left him even more puzzled than the otherworldly orb pulsing in his hand.

  “...Cookies?”

  Delighted, Olivia shook her head. “Those are from my granddaughter Sarah. She works here as a receptionist—the same receptionist you just so happened to save a little while ago.”

  “...That...was your granddaughter?!” he exclaimed, his mind finally stringing the obvious dots together.

  “Most people react like that when I tell them. But yes, although she stays in this city of all places, she's not a deviant. After your flashy fight a few hours ago, she managed to retrieve the infernal's core after you cluelessly abandoned it there.”

  The subtle hints of emphasis infused into her sentence made the words all the more crushing.

  “Allow me to personally thank you for saving her. The cookies are just a little extra—a maiden’s token of gratitude, if you will.”

  “I see. That’s good then.”

  A mellow expression settled on the boys face, his gaze softening as he regarded the gesture with quiet appreciation.

  “At least something good came out of this. Now you have a fan.” Carissa commented, a teasing smile playing on her lips as she glanced at Cyril.

  “I wouldn’t....go that far.” Sounding both weak and muted, his response didn’t carry enough weight to match her challenge. Fortunately for him, her dominion wouldn’t last very long.

  “As for you Carissa...” Olivia began, her demeanor shifting with her tone. “....I’m worried about you as well. You’ve taken time off to grieve the loss of your mentor Alice, but I’m starting to wonder if you’re newfound passion for dungeon diving is simply a way to postpone that grief.”

  The implication captured Cyril’s attention completely, after that question he couldn’t look away even if he wanted to.

  “No, it's nothing like that Principal. I fully intend on taking a break after I’ve tied up a few loose ends, and by the way things are going, I should be able to return full-time next semester.”

  Her words were slow and measured, devoid of any hesitation. Not even Olivia—someone who surpassed them both in power and position—could shake such unwavering resolve.

  "It would seem I’ve overstepped my bounds, Carissa. My apologies—my worries appear to have been in vain after all."

  “No, no, it's fine principal. In fact, I’m happy to see that you’re even giving it this much thought.” She affirmed proudly, brushing off a bit of Olivia’s concern with a wave of her hand.

  “Of course I would, I’ve come to know you quite well after all. Since its nothing serious, then I suppose this is where I should also take my leave. He doesn’t exactly look it but Wilhelm can be rather impatient, he might wander off somewhere if I dawdle too long.”

  The exchange of farewells that followed her words came with immaculate precision, almost as if they’d been rehearsed.

  Thud

  The door slid into its frame with a low rumble. Olivia paused a step shy of the extravagant hospital hall, giving a glance over her shoulder. “Cyril, one more thing...”

  “Is there something else principal?” the patient perked up curiously.

  “...I’m looking forward to seeing you master the flame skill from that core. Don’t let Sarah's efforts go to waste my dear~” she said, leaving the words to hang in the air before stepping out of view.

  "Heh-heh-heh..."

  “What’s so funny?” Carissa probed skeptically as she inspected the smile on his face.

  “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

  Two distinct objects occupied his hands.

  One was a literal embodiment of power—coveted by nearly every hunter who awakened as a striker. The other was a simple bag of cookies. Strangely, his feelings of elation were evenly divided between the two, though that balance shifted ever so slightly when his eyes fell on the note attached to the small transparent bag.

  Penned in immaculate cursive, the note read: "Thank you for saving me. Get well soon!"