When I opened my eyes, dark surroundings entered my view.
As I tried to raise my body up along with a faint moan, my surroundings brightened up.
“You’re awake?”
Seeing Rany, who was running toward me with rounded eyes, I straightened my body.
My heavy body unexpectedly stumbled.
A familiar grip supported my body, which was about to fall on the floor from the soft sofa.
“Don’t get up. Lie down.”
It was only after that low voice that I came up with where this place was.
“Zen.”
Slowly, something soft supported my back.
My eyes were dry and my throat was hoarse.
As I took a sip of the water offered right in front of me, I began to see clearly along with the loss of my thirst.
“Drink it all.”
After I drank the water until I could see the bottom of the cup, Bertin grabbed my wrist.
“Seems like you’ve gotten better. Your pulse is stronger than before.”
Then, Zen put his hand on my forehead.
When I withdrew from the lukewarm temperature of his hands, he calmly added.
“The fever also went down.”
I was puzzled.
When I tilted my head in wonder at the sound that my fever had gone down and my pulse had gotten stronger, Rany, who had stepped back, sighed with her arms folded.
“You made me worried, you know. You fainted out of the blue.”
“I did?”
When I fumbled over my blurry memories, I remembered the headache I had in the classroom.
Just like the one on the test site, the pain had long disappeared.
What a surprise that I fainted . . .
I didn’t have a chronic disease nor did I have a weak body.
This was the first time I fainted because of sickness.
Finding this amazing, I was reminded of Trevor. He had been in a glaring seizure while letting out black blood.
“Was the exam site’s atmosphere bad?”
“Exam site?”
“Yeah. Trevor also fainted like me.”
He was in a much more serious state than I was, to be exact.
Bertin erased his smile and asked.
“Trevor Beryl? The one who took the advancement exam just like you?”
“Yeah.”
While nodding, I felt strange from his naturally asked question that I asked back.
“How did you know that he also took the advancement exam like me?”
“Because Raynia has a list of the advancement exam takers. I knew that much.”
“. . .”
I closed my mouth before I was about to ask why she had that.
Come to think of it, she could enter the bet because she had that list.
I was surprised by the meticulousness of my best friend, and I was dizzy at the sight of Bertin who easily pretended to be unaware of it.
Bertin, aren’t you on the student council?
Rany reached out and tidied up my disheveled hair.
Her face showed that she was pretty upset.
“You just wanted to take an exam, but what is all of this?”
“I know, right?”
I couldn’t understand the reason for all of this.
I touched my nose just in case, but there was no blood there.
I had a pretty strong headache, but that was all.
I did hear that I fainted, but I found no pain except for the heavy body of mine. That was likely because I slept for so long.
“Do you guys know Trevor’s condition?”
“We don’t know. Did he also faint like you?”
It seemed as though everyone was more quiet about what happened to Trevor than what I had expected.
That could have become a spreading rumor among the students, but Rany didn’t seem to know.
“He fainted while vomiting black blood. The professor gave first aid, but it didn’t seem to stop bleeding. I think he was moved to another location because his condition was very bad, but I don’t know about the details.”
Bertin was lost in thought before he raised his head and asked.
“Black blood?”
“Yeah.”
When I slightly raised up my body at the gaze that was staring at me as if there was something to point out, something fell off my neck.
I could see my darkened locket necklace as if it were burnt by fire.
When I blinked and touched it, grinds were scattered away from it.
“What in . . .”
While I blinked my eyes out of confusion, Zen asked me after taking the item away from me.
“Did you feel any pain? Or a strange feeling?”
“I had a headache during the exam. But I’m fine now.”
As I answered in bewilderment, Zen looked at Bertin.
He looked at me with a complicated expression before nodding.
“Seems like that is the case.”
“What do you mean?”
Frustrated, I asked the three who exchanged glances while leaving me out.
Rany came closer and hugged me tight.
“See? I told you, didn’t I? This world is a scary place. You have to be careful even with an ant passing by.”
“I can’t believe such a thing happened inside the academy.”
Bertin muttered after Rany’s confusing words.
When I looked at Zen who was standing hesitantly as I hugged Rany who was clinging to me, he showed me the darkened item and answered my curiosity.
“I casted protection magic over this blessed object. When someone attacks you, it will protect you by turning back that power. Usually, magic can’t work against curse, but this one is special. Because this is imbued with divine power.”
“Imbued with divine power . . . ?”
My confusion kept continuing.
Isn’t that just a portable locket for communication?
Rany’s insidious smile when she gave me that saying that it was a prototype made by her guild came to mind.
Back then, Rany clearly told me that it was a communication necklace.
“This is not a simple communication tool?”
My friends answered my confusion filled question.
“It is.”
“A divine communication tool with a good performance.”
“Should I say it’s a communication tool from my heart and sincerity?”
I quietly let Rany off before staring at the black thing on Zen’s palm.
Then, I looked at Rany, who was looking at me with an innocent face, Bertin, who was smiling softly as if he had done nothing wrong, and Zen, who raised his chin confidently as though everything was fine.
“Why is there divine power in the communication tool? What do you mean by turning back the curse?”
“I tried so hard to imbue both divine power and magic at the same time. To completely separate the inner and outer sides of the locket, the outer part used the melted powdered mana stone and gold. And for the inner part, I used the baptismal cloth blessed by God.”
When I opened my eyes, dark surroundings entered my view.
As I tried to raise my body up along with a faint moan, my surroundings brightened up.
“You’re awake?”
Seeing Rany, who was running toward me with rounded eyes, I straightened my body.
My heavy body unexpectedly stumbled.
A familiar grip supported my body, which was about to fall on the floor from the soft sofa.
“Don’t get up. Lie down.”
It was only after that low voice that I came up with where this place was.
“Zen.”
Slowly, something soft supported my back.
My eyes were dry and my throat was hoarse.
As I took a sip of the water offered right in front of me, I began to see clearly along with the loss of my thirst.
“Drink it all.”
After I drank the water until I could see the bottom of the cup, Bertin grabbed my wrist.
“Seems like you’ve gotten better. Your pulse is stronger than before.”
Then, Zen put his hand on my forehead.
When I withdrew from the lukewarm temperature of his hands, he calmly added.
“The fever also went down.”
I was puzzled.
When I tilted my head in wonder at the sound that my fever had gone down and my pulse had gotten stronger, Rany, who had stepped back, sighed with her arms folded.
“You made me worried, you know. You fainted out of the blue.”
“I did?”
When I fumbled over my blurry memories, I remembered the headache I had in the classroom.
Just like the one on the test site, the pain had long disappeared.
What a surprise that I fainted . . .
I didn’t have a chronic disease nor did I have a weak body.
This was the first time I fainted because of sickness.
Finding this amazing, I was reminded of Trevor. He had been in a glaring seizure while letting out black blood.
“Was the exam site’s atmosphere bad?”
“Exam site?”
“Yeah. Trevor also fainted like me.”
He was in a much more serious state than I was, to be exact.
Bertin erased his smile and asked.
“Trevor Beryl? The one who took the advancement exam just like you?”
“Yeah.”
While nodding, I felt strange from his naturally asked question that I asked back.
“How did you know that he also took the advancement exam like me?”
“Because Raynia has a list of the advancement exam takers. I knew that much.”
“. . .”
I closed my mouth before I was about to ask why she had that.
Come to think of it, she could enter the bet because she had that list.
I was surprised by the meticulousness of my best friend, and I was dizzy at the sight of Bertin who easily pretended to be unaware of it.
Bertin, aren’t you on the student council?
Rany reached out and tidied up my disheveled hair.
Her face showed that she was pretty upset.
“You just wanted to take an exam, but what is all of this?”
“I know, right?”
I couldn’t understand the reason for all of this.
I touched my nose just in case, but there was no blood there.
I had a pretty strong headache, but that was all.
I did hear that I fainted, but I found no pain except for the heavy body of mine. That was likely because I slept for so long.
“Do you guys know Trevor’s condition?”
“We don’t know. Did he also faint like you?”
It seemed as though everyone was more quiet about what happened to Trevor than what I had expected.
That could have become a spreading rumor among the students, but Rany didn’t seem to know.
“He fainted while vomiting black blood. The professor gave first aid, but it didn’t seem to stop bleeding. I think he was moved to another location because his condition was very bad, but I don’t know about the details.”
Bertin was lost in thought before he raised his head and asked.
“Black blood?”
“Yeah.”
When I slightly raised up my body at the gaze that was staring at me as if there was something to point out, something fell off my neck.
I could see my darkened locket necklace as if it were burnt by fire.
When I blinked and touched it, grinds were scattered away from it.
“What in . . .”
While I blinked my eyes out of confusion, Zen asked me after taking the item away from me.
“Did you feel any pain? Or a strange feeling?”
“I had a headache during the exam. But I’m fine now.”
As I answered in bewilderment, Zen looked at Bertin.
He looked at me with a complicated expression before nodding.
“Seems like that is the case.”
“What do you mean?”
Frustrated, I asked the three who exchanged glances while leaving me out.
Rany came closer and hugged me tight.
“See? I told you, didn’t I? This world is a scary place. You have to be careful even with an ant passing by.”
“I can’t believe such a thing happened inside the academy.”
Bertin muttered after Rany’s confusing words.
When I looked at Zen who was standing hesitantly as I hugged Rany who was clinging to me, he showed me the darkened item and answered my curiosity.
“I casted protection magic over this blessed object. When someone attacks you, it will protect you by turning back that power. Usually, magic can’t work against curse, but this one is special. Because this is imbued with divine power.”
“Imbued with divine power . . . ?”
My confusion kept continuing.
Isn’t that just a portable locket for communication?
Rany’s insidious smile when she gave me that saying that it was a prototype made by her guild came to mind.
Back then, Rany clearly told me that it was a communication necklace.
“This is not a simple communication tool?”
My friends answered my confusion filled question.
“It is.”
“A divine communication tool with a good performance.”
“Should I say it’s a communication tool from my heart and sincerity?”
I quietly let Rany off before staring at the black thing on Zen’s palm.
Then, I looked at Rany, who was looking at me with an innocent face, Bertin, who was smiling softly as if he had done nothing wrong, and Zen, who raised his chin confidently as though everything was fine.
“Why is there divine power in the communication tool? What do you mean by turning back the curse?”
“I tried so hard to imbue both divine power and magic at the same time. To completely separate the inner and outer sides of the locket, the outer part used the melted powdered mana stone and gold. And for the inner part, I used the baptismal cloth blessed by God.”
