Races: Online (VR Smartphone App)

Chapter 159: The Flame and The Soujourner (2)

"What took you so long?" Her voice snapped at him. Instead of coming back to his dormitory and finally getting some peace and quiet, the young man came across someone who he forgot was actually there.

Right. He had taken her in.

He had nearly forgotten that she was still here.

Timothy blinked at the young woman and instead of finding it annoyingsomehow it just reminded him of the way his mother nagged him before. But it wasn't fair to compare one to the other as he shut the door behind him. It had taken him a bit of effort getting Han to his own room and even then, it was like the idiot couldn't see the doorknob to his room.

He had to practically throw the guy to the bed before he returned here.

But he wasn't going to explain that to her and that was because he had a feeling that she was just venting. Reason or not, he'd still get an earful. He sighed and walked over to the table and dumped his sack, "I don't know about youbut I nearly died back earlier so I'd appreciate it if you could just rest." It didn't mean that he would mince words though.

Iola's mouth parted for a moment, until she sniffed.

"... I asked because I was a tad concerned about you, I'm not sure if you are exaggerating your situation. Getting a book from a library shouldn't be too hard." She said something else underneath her breath but then sank into his bed some more. She was too comfortable and snug in it.

He wanted to sleep on the bed. Timothy ran his fingers through his hair and focused on something else beside the mattress, "It's too hard to explain, besides, the Mage didn't keep their word."

"W-What?! That's impossible!" She sputtered.

It made him look back to see her staring at her palms.

It was as if she was inspecting and wondering if things were truly happening. "No one shoulddid you not finish your end of the bargain?" She looked up at him with those dark eyes and gave him a judgemental look. Her lips were pursed into a frown.

"It was too dangerous"

"Then that's the reason."

"No, you don't get it." Timothy rubbed his face as he sat down on the wooden chair and leaned back against the wall. The chair was too hard would it be better to just lie down on the floor? There was a rug there so it wasn't going to be that cold.

She huffed at him, "Well you should explain it properly. My Skill isalmost irrevocable unless"

"Unless what?"

"Nothing." She frowned at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell me, how did this Mage back out of the agreement?"

Why was she so insistent about her Skill not working? Maybe it hadn't worked as well as she thought it would, but it was nothing to be too upset about. "Can we do it tomorrow?"

"You mean later."

"Great, I'm not even getting enough rest." Timothy was planning to read but his eyelids were too heavy right now. He stood up from the chair and eyed the rug on the floor, he raised his gaze back to Iola and gave her a warning, "Don't step on me later, I'm sleeping on the floor."

"Yesterday you slept in the chair."

"...yes, I'm changing to the carpeted rug."

"Huh. Weird but alright." She told him and pulled the covers further over herself. "Whatever you wish, besides, I wouldn't even think of stepping on youyou don't deserve that much."

Timothy rubbed his face but didn't say anything else as he marched over to his bed. Iola's eyes widened as she recoiled, "H-Hey! You can't think of"

He snagged one of the available pillows and raised a brow at her. "What? I want a pillow. Don't tell me that I can't even have this at least."

"...I feel much more comfortable with numerous pillows, but fine, you can use it. But perhaps you can buy more pillows tomorrow? I'm sure that's fine right? Better bed sheets possibly. And ah, I do wish I had better sleeping clothes."

"Goodnight."

Timothy had half a mind to get the blankets from her but it was the only one they had. He would really have to consider getting extra beddings or something but wouldn't the money he would get from the jewels or the money that Grandma Moe lent him be used for her own desires? It made him feel like a servant.

Sooner or later, he would find himself drifting off to sleep.

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.

.

.

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Iola ensured that the man was snoring and fast asleep. The young woman stepped down from the bed. The man had turned off the Mana Light before but she sent a small wave of mana towards it and watched it light up slightly, just enough for her to not trip over herself. She tiptoed around him and headed to the desk, the lumpy bag of sack lay haphazardly on the wooden surface.

She would have been blind if she hadn't noticed it.

Hesitantly, she reached out for the filthy material and opened it. Iola kept her mouth shut, but she shook her head before finally gazing back at the sleeping man. She frowned slightly. He looked kind of cute sleeping, but that was beyond her point now. Iola brushed some of her hair behind an ear as she looked at the contents of the bag.

He had complained about going to the library as an arduous task but he came back with a sack filled with books. How had he compiled this and not gathered the specific one that Mage had wanted? "What a" She ran her fingers through the titles of books.

The study material in and of itself wasn't questionableit was probably more advanced than those Mages who learned under a friendly local Mage or Witch. Iola pursed her lips, as she checked all the titles and found the study material at least acceptable. Not that she was well-versed in magic.

But she at least knew some to a certain extent. 

[ Light ]

It was the easiest of spells for her. It would be enough to gather mana in her surroundings but she called for it from within her and redirected the mana to her fingers. She shaped it to her desired form and watched it change and manipulate into its new purpose, a bright light. She made it flicker and dim and glanced behind her to ensure that the man had stayed asleep.

...and he was completely asleep.

Exhausted to the core? Iola turned away from him and redirected her gaze back to the books. Theories for magic, she wasn't bored enough to actually read that book although she could always refresh her mind. Nope, she didn't pay attention to it. What was theory if she couldn't even practice it? A memory flickered in her brain to which she quickly pushed it behind her. He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't dare do a thing like it.

Iola squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

How long was she going to stay here before the man upturned the city? She honestly didn't know and the man could find her if he wanted to. But Iola paid more attention to the books instead. Most of them were what she'd expect from a first year Student? But there were two questionable booksor rather one was a book and the other was a tome.

"Specialization?" Iola's fingers flitted through the grooves of the book's title as her eyes widened. The spine of the book was somewhat old and as she flitted through the pages, the leaves were already somewhat deteriorated? It was odd that the book wasn't well maintained when it was probably a classical and important one. 

'Healing Spells, Incantations and Runes'

"It's much more convenient to use Healing Potions though, why the need for this? He could have gotten a better copy too instead of something like this." Iola shut the book for a moment and shook her head. "Healing Spells need more mana and time to prepare when compared to making and drinking a healing potion." If she had to measure it right now based on the lessons she had on arithmetics. "It's more efficient to use potions, not to mention the time needed to learn a Spell. It would be much more useful in a battle to"

Iola pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Now's not the time to think too hard, no need to strategize some battle you won't even be seeing." She pushed the 'Healing Book' away and turned to the tome and stared at the etchings and runes on it. It was time to decipher and see what it wasshe felt a throb go through her head as she tried to construe the meaning. Iola blinked and tried to delve deeper into the text but another jolt sent her stepping back from the table. She looked away before something else could happen as she winced. "T-That's can he even read that?" She asked as she realized a sensation of something warm and trickling on her face. 

Iola brushed a hand underneath her nose and soon found blood in it.