Chapter 24

Am I still dreaming? The amount of absurd stuff that’s been happening to me over the past few days has started making me question reality. I continued staring at the sword, my mind struggling to process what to do next. 

“Did that old man give me a cursed sword?” I muttered under my breath.

It didn’t take kindly to that comment, bolting toward me and striking again, as if offended at being called cursed. I tried to fight back, but that only seemed to anger it further, as it slammed into the side of my rib.

“Okay! Okay! I'll take it back!” I shouted, leaning over, rubbing my rib, My entire body ached in pain.

It stopped in its tracks, circling me a few times before floating in front of me again. Though It didn’t have a face, I could almost feel the smugness radiating off this heap of metal. I clicked my tongue in annoyance and finally asked it a question.

“So what are you exactly?”

No answer. Balmung continued to just hover there. 

“Can you talk?”

It tilted slightly, a question mark forming on top of it, as if it had never heard of the concept before. I rubbed both hands over my face, letting out a frustrated sigh.

“How does this even make sense? You can understand me, but you can’t talk?”

I glanced up at Balmung, about to prod further, when I heard the sound of footsteps slowly approaching outside the room. 

Instantly, Balmung dropped with a clang, settling back onto the floor like a normal sword, resting casually at the side of my bed. The door slid open, and I watched as Thalor, the headmaster, stepped inside.

“I see you’re awake. How are you feeling?” he asked.

“A-ah… I’m feeling alright now, thank you for asking.” I hesitated before asking, “Um, how long was I out?”

“You’ve been out for a few days. Three days, to be exact,” he replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down, crossing his legs.

“Three days?!” My voice cracked. Three whole days, because I fainted in a mock battle? Wait… then what about my sister? She must be worried sick by now. Or, more likely, saving her breath for the lecture she’ll give once she knows I’m safe. Just imagining her angry face sent a shiver down my spine. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind.

Headmaster Thalor sat there, looking at me with faint amusement. Now that I was seeing him more clearly, I couldn’t fathom how someone who seemed this young managed to hold the title of Headmaster.

“Not what you expected?” he asked suddenly.

I flinched at his words. ‘Wait—did he just read my mind?’

“Haha, no need to worry. I’m used to that kind of reaction,” he said lightly, before his tone shifted. “Now… let’s talk about why I came by, shall we?”

I nodded, trying to steady myself. “Then the final results of the exam?”

Headmaster Thalor leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together, “Right about that. After careful consideration, we’ve decided to place you in the Elite Class.”

“Huh?” I blurted out.

“Though there was strong opposition from the council, after a bit of ‘convincing,’ I was able to secure your placement.”

“But that is not what I’m here to discuss.” He leaned forward, his demeanor hardening. “Tell me—where did you learn to wield that sword style?”

My mind went completely blank—what was I supposed to say? ‘Oh, I've just been having these dreams and decided to copy it from them.’ Yeah, not happening—he’d think I’m completely insane.

My next best options? Either play dumb or stay silent… neither of those sounds all that great either. In the end, I went with the latter.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, sir.”

Headmaster Thalor didn’t press further. He let out a small chuckle, dismissing his earlier question.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it.” 

I let out a sigh of relief, grateful he wasn’t pursuing further.

He rested his face on his hand and continued, “So… how does it feel being placed in the Elite Class? It’s been quite a while since someone not of nobility has reached this level.”

“I’m not sure myself, honestly” I said, scratching my cheek. “Obviously, I’m happy, but it feels like I’m walking directly into a lion’s den.”

Considering my ‘awesome’ reputation with the populace, there’s bound to be jealousy and backlash. Well, at this point, it is what it is… but wait—how the hell am I supposed to explain this to Kaelon?

“Nothing wrong with feeling that way,” he said with a small nod. “Still, you should be proud of your achievement. Even if you’re unable to use conventional magic, I’m curious to see just how many surprises you still have hidden, so don’t disappoint me.”

Hiding surprises? Unfortunately for you… I’m just as confused as everyone else.

I caught the headmaster’s eyes flick toward Balmung, the blade resting at my side. His expression shifted ever so slightly before he finally spoke again.

“That sword of yours, you should keep it close to you at all cost.”

Before I could ask what he meant, another set of footsteps echoed down the hall—much more hurriedly than headmaster Thalor’s—until the door slammed open.

“CAELITH!”

My sister stood at the entrance, holding a basket in one hand, her face flushed and her breathing uneven, as she looked at me with a mix of anger and worry.

“U-uhhh… hey, sis. How’ve you been?” I said awkwardly, raising a hand in a half-hearted wave.

“Is that really the first thing you have to say?” she snapped, a vein bulging on her forehead. She immediately rushed toward me. 

“W-wait! C-calm down for a mo—” I yelled, raising my arms instinctively, but it was no use. My sister grabbed both sides of my head, quickly scanning for any injuries, then let her eyes drift down to check the rest of my body.

I sat there awkwardly, glancing at Headmaster Thalor and saw him averting his gaze, clearly trying to suppress a smile at the scene unfolding before him. I let out a sigh, feeling my dignity slowly being stripped away.

This scene reminded me of something similar that had happened in the past, when I had gotten into a major fight with some of the kids in the area. I remembered coming home all bloody and battered, my sister staring at me in horror.

“What in the world happened?!” My sister had exclaimed, immediately putting down the stuff from her hands and kneeling beside me as she carefully tended to the wounds on my face.

“I got into a fight,” I muttered, avoiding her gaze. 

She let out a sigh, “What happened exactly? Or did you start the fight?” 

“No!” I snapped, the sudden outburst caught my sister off guard. Her hands had paused mid-motion, and she stared at me, eye wide with concern. 

After a moment of silence, I began explaining.

“They were talking down about our parents, and about us too… I tried to ignore them at first, but they just wouldn’t stop, so things escalated from there.” I trailed off, uncertainty was creeping into my voice. “… I’m sorry, big sis. Are you mad at me…?”

Elysia flicked my forehead at that moment, then ruffled my hair lightly.

“That’s what you’re worried about? Look, I don’t like it when you go out of your way to start a fight. But at the end of the day, as long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”

She smiled faintly. “Alright, cheer up. I’ll make your favorite dinner tonight, so don’t go crying on me now.”

I simply nodded, rubbing my forehead.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I found out the parents of those kids I had fought with came looking for my sister, demanding compensation. Eventually, she was pressured into handing over the little money she had worked so hard to save. All I had managed to do was cause trouble for my sister. Back in the present, my sister finished her check-up and let out a relieved sigh, her tense shoulders finally relaxing. Then she grabbed one of my ears, giving it a sharp twist.

 “Do you have any idea how worried I was when you were passed out for the last three days?!”

I winced, tugging my ear free. “ACK—I’m sorry! It won’t happen again! Can you please… not pull off my ear?”

“You two seem to get along really well,” Headmaster Thalor interjected, suppressing a smile on his face. “You’re lucky to have a sister who cares about you this much. She's been visiting you every day since you’re out.”

There seems to be a hint of wistfulness in his last sentence, but I didn’t think too much about it. My sister let go of my ear and turned to face Headmaster Thalor, bowing her head slightly.

“Thank you for looking after this useless brother of mine,” she said.

I glared at her, still holding my ear, but she immediately shot back with an even more menacing look. On second thought… Never mind. I can’t win against her.

“Please raise your head, it’s nothing to worry about,” Headmaster Thalor said gently, “Besides, your brother is now a student at Ascalon, so it’s only natural for me, as the headmaster, to check up on him.”

He pushed back from his chair and rose to his feet, straightening his posture and dusting off his sleeves.

“I’ll leave you two siblings to catch up. It would be inappropriate for me to stay any longer.”

My sister offered one last word of thanks as Headmaster Thalor exited, leaving just the two of us alone in the room. 

GURGLEEEEE

A loud sound rippled through the room. I scratched the back of my head, feeling embarrassed as my stomach growled. Elysia’s expression softened.

“Hungry?” She asked.

“Absolutely.” I replied.