Published at 16th of February 2024 2:21 pm

Chapter 43. Abductors, Assassins, or Aristrocat Thugs?

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

“The fallen gods mean us harm, but they don’t want to wipe out all of humanity. They need our worship and praise to sustain them. So, even when they rampage or attack, they’re careful to minimize the loss of possible followers. Humans are their own worst enemies. We wage war over territory or petty squabbles. We cripple the talented and turn them into mana batteries for the rich and powerful. We slit the throats of our own kind for deities who see us as little more than ants. Unite and rule with an iron fist. It's the only way our kind will survive.” - Lord Emporer Ellore, Founder of the Imperium, The First Archmage.

Everything hurt when Nox stirred. It felt as if all his joints had popped out of their sockets simultaneously and then slammed back into place violently a moment later. The greatest discomfort came from his left shoulder. The pain was deeper, and it burned hot. Something had directly attacked his nerves and mana circuits and attempted to burn him from the inside out.

When Nox’s eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he wasn’t in his bed, let alone the correct apartment. The ceiling had no cracks or damp spots. The paint appeared high quality, too. The bed under him was far more comfortable than his hammock, and the lighting was also gentler.

A stinging fire blossomed along Nox’s upper left side as he tried to sit up. He winced, biting back a cry. Tears threatened to cloud his vision, but Nox blinked them away. He hadn’t yet visited the university’s infirmary, but it couldn't be where his rescuers had bought him. The furniture was far too nice, and a messy desk sat against the wall on the other side of the room. Women’s clothing littered the floor, and a familiar scent filled the air. Nox struggled to place it at first, but then everything clicked into place.

It was the amber liquor he had consumed during his meeting with Kris. Nox was in Kris' apartment. He peeked under the blanket covering him. Much to Nox’s relief, no one had removed his trousers. Only his shirt was missing. Thick gauze went across his torso, from his left armpit to his right collarbone. They wrapped around his left shoulder, too, leaving him to imagine a cape made of bandages.

The image amused Nox. It occurred to him then that he had pain-killing substances in his system. He guessed his back would hurt even more without it. Nox’s hand drifted to his head. He felt dried blood and a bald patch but no laceration or stitches. It meant he didn’t have to wait long before receiving healing. The slight burn at the bottom of his stomach suggested someone had fed him a mixture of alchemical brews.

“Hello?” He called. “Is anyone there.”

Several footsteps sounded outside the door. It opened violently a moment later. Lillin and Annabelle burst into the room. Both women spoke at once. Nox heard questions asking about pain, and then someone offered to help him up. The speed of their speech and the pitch made piercing pains shoot from the front to the back of his skull. Nox had to close his eyes and bite his tongue to ride out the discomfort. Fortunately, both women realized their mistake and quietened. When Nox opened his eyes, Lillin and Annabelle appeared sorry. The first knelt by his bed while the latter stayed by the door. Then Kris and Pudge entered the room. They appeared just as concerned.

“How are you feeling?” His mentor asked.

“Sore,” Nox replied. He accepted Lillin’s offer, and she gently helped him upright. The pain in his shoulder flared for a moment but faded just as quickly. “Is this what a hangover feels like?”

“No,” Pudge replied. “Hangovers are much, much worse.”

Nox chuckled. More discomfort followed. “Don’t try to be funny.”

“I can’t help it. I’ll spend my life alone if I’m just funny-looking.”

Pudge’s comment won him smiles from the women in the room, but then everyone refocused on Nox. “Do you need more—”

“I’d rather not have any more brews,” Nox said. “My stomach lining is inflamed. It means there are a bunch of incompatible cocktails in my stomach.”

“That’s my fault,” Annabelle said sheepishly. “I didn’t know what to do and fed you whatever I had on my person. Sorry.”

“Then I caught up and administered a healing pill and Sprinter’s High,” Lillin added. “Pudge used his healing, too.”

“I only cast a basic regeneration spell,” the shorter man said. “Healing is a delicate art, and I’m not practiced with humans.”

“I called a healer in to look you over, and he said you weren’t in any danger," Kris told Nox. "The wounds were superficial. The brews and regeneration will do their job if you just get a good night of sleep. The man was more worried about mana burn.”

Nox frowned. It was uncomfortable, but he cycled mana through his system. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. “I think the Sigil of Immunity protected me from it,” he told them. “Did anyone see what happened?”

“I caught the end of it,” Annabelle said. She sheepishly glanced at the others in the room before meeting Nox’s eyes. “I was debating coming back to the training room to ask if you wanted to grab a late supper and talk when my Danger Sense went wild. By the time I got back, you were already on the ground. I didn’t get a good enough look at them, but there were three people standing over you. A scream and a couple of pellets were enough to make them scatter.”

“Annabelle did a lot more than that.” Lillin pulled Annabelle to the bedside. “I felt you in my head, Annabelle. I didn’t know who it was, at first, but it was clear that Nox was in danger.”

“Didn’t you go out drinking?” Nox asked.

“I wasn’t in the mood for a lot of mead.” Lillin grinned. “I was already back in my room with a man of the university guard. He wasn’t pleased when I got up and ran.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Then Annabelle fetched me while Lillin took care of you," Pudge added. "The guards were already on site when I got there. They thought it might be the abductors and called Kris.”

“Did you get a look at who it was?” Kris asked. “Abductions from within the campus walls are rare, but it has happened before.”

“I’m not sure,” Nox answered. “It was pretty dark.”

“The city guard and deans will need a report since I was the first professor on the scene. Anything you can tell me will be of immense help.”

“It was dark,” Nox repeated. “I can tell you there was a lot more than three of them. A bunch, two from behind and at least one from the side, tried to sneak up on me. They were clearly not used to it, though. Their footsteps gave them away.” Nox paused. “The boots sounded heavy. Or, they had hard leather heels. I can’t be sure, but I heard them coming. One of the men coming from behind had a short club. Then—”

“Are you sure they were all men?” Kris asked.

“No but their heights and builds made them appear masculine. I can’t confirm more than that. Fae fire was enough to surprise them. I took the opportunity to run, but someone body-checked me just as I was turning a corner. It was like running into a statue. Then something stabbed me in the back. I’m not sure how to describe the pain. My muscles locked, and even my bones hurt. Then something hit me in the back of the head.”

“You got a defensive spell off before passing out,” Lillin said. She dumped fistfuls of essence glass on the bed. The bulk of them were clear. When Nox picked a piece up, ripples pulsed through them from the point of contact. He flicked the chunk, and the glass hummed.

“Sound essence?” Nox asked, but no one had an answer for him.

“This one might interest you.” Lillin pushed a large shard toward him. It had cracks running through it, and lightning tendrils whizzed along them.

“Lightning essence.” Nox frowned. “You don’t have to look far, Professor,” he said. “This is Edward Gedge’s work.”

“How can you be sure?”

“His star uses Galvanizing Touch for its focus. He’s building his system around close-ranged lightning spells.”

“That’s not enough to accuse him, Nox,” Kris said. “Lightning is a common choice for most battle mages. The war mage department is full of them. You have a cantrip for it, too.”

“Edward has a history of having me jumped—”

“He’s never done it in the city or campus.” Kris cut him off. “I’m not calling you a liar. Just be careful with your accusations. A lack of evidence will make the statements slanderous, and the nobility make a big deal of it. If you get something more concrete like a witness or even an indirect confession, I can have the guards launch an investigation.”

The professor appeared embarrassed. From what Nox had heard, each department contributed to campus security. A central fund paid for the guards. The research department was responsible for all the wards around campus. Equipment came from the artisans. The remaining two departments provided manpower to assist the guards, lead them, and solve matters beyond their capabilities.

An attack within campus meant the staff had failed in their duties. It specifically meant that the dungeon studies and war mages departments had failed in their duties. Guard patrols should've covered the area and noticed the attackers lying in wait. The research department's wards should've also reacted somehow when offensive magic activated outside the training hall. For a moment, Nox wondered whether he could get a discount on the next semester's tuition if he made a fuss and then changed his mind.

“So what then?” Annabelle asked, sounding perturbed. “They get to beat up Nox and almost ruin his mana circuits but face no consequences.”

“We’re still going to have Edward and his friends questioned,” Kris said. “Lightning gives us a lead. You also claim that you ran into a statuesque figure. That sounds like a stone armor spell to me. It's not an uncommon mana system path.” She grabbed a chunk of sound essence glass off the bed. “Sonic mages are considerably rarer. Looking them up will get us further with the investigation.”

“But we shouldn’t hold our breath, right?”

“That’s right, Annabelle. The professors and the guard will take the matter seriously, but the assault was well thought out. They waited until Nox was alone and attacked him in an area with poor lighting. Thanks to the time of day, there were no witnesses, and a sound mage kept the noise contained. If they had the skills to match their planning, the fools might’ve succeeded at crippling Nox.”

“You don’t think they were trying to kill him?” Lillin’s face and tone had turned stone cold. If Nox still hadn’t completed his star and intended to walk the path of Freeze, her expression would’ve sufficed as a source of the focus. It was Lillin’s ‘I’m going to kill and devour someone’ face.

“Murder is easy,” Kris replied. “They had Nox disabled and on the ground. Slitting his throat or putting the knife in his neck would’ve been no challenge at all. Since he has no physical enhancements, they could’ve done it in a heartbeat before fleeing. The attackers wanted to inflict pain and possibly ruin his future as a delver and mage. Or, they wanted to damage him just bad enough to sacrifice him to a dungeon lord or turn him into a mana battery.”

“Well, this sucks.” Pudge sighed. “I could rally hounds to sniff the site and follow a scent.”

“The only blood on the scene is Nox’s, and they were careful to leave nothing behind.”

“It’s alright,” Nox said. The drugs had him too numb to focus on anything as pointless as anger or frustration. “I’m alive, and I’ll be careful not to roam the campus alone late in the evening. Perhaps it's something all four of us should consider. If it's not Edward, it could be the same people responsible for the abductions. Or someone might have figured out our plans, and they’re targeting Noxian Brews.”

“I’m sorry,” Kris said. “I wish there was something more I could do.”

“You could always clear me for delving.” Nox grinned, trying his luck.

“Do you have a vanguard yet?”

“No.”

“Is the Shaping spell ready for your planet?”

“No.”

“You know my answer then.”

The professor left the room to prepare food for Nox. A layer in his stomach would ease the burning caused by mismatching brews and help him sleep better. Lillin followed her, sparking an argument over the delving badge. Pudge glanced between Nox and Annabelle. He shot the pair a mischievous grin and left them alone.

Once they were alone, Annabelle sat on the bed next to Nox. She took his hand and squeezed, but said nothing. Then her soft lips caressed his cheek and the pair sat in silence until the others returned with a tray of food. Since Nox hated eating alone, everyone nibbled on pieces of bread while he devoured the brothy chicken and mushroom stew. The meal eased the discomfort in his stomach and left him feeling heavy.

It was close to midnight, so Kris escorted Annabelle back to her quarters. Meanwhile, Lillin and Pudge returned to the apartment. None of them liked the idea of Nox moving or sleeping in a hammock, so he spent the night in his mentor’s bed.

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