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"Crack"
Casper heard a loud laugh coming from above him.
What is this??
He could no longer understand anything—his mind was numb after being struck on the head with something solid.
Is this another attack? Haven't we finished yet?
Suddenly, he began to feel both a headache and despair. His body had no strength left; he couldn't even move a single bone in his body, so how could he return to fighting? In fact, he didn't even want to fight—his hands still trembled whenever he remembered that disgusting feeling of tearing flesh and bone.
And the thought that he had taken a human life filled him with a tangled mess of fear, pain, and self-loathing.
It was terrifying…
Poke, poke.
Am I… a criminal now?
Poke, poke.
"Damn you! Let me drown in my misery!!"
Didn't he have the right to grieve?! He was going to die anyway—who was this annoying person bothering him in his last moments?!
"If you don't wake up now, I'll throw you into the monster swamp."
He gasped when he heard that familiar voice.
"Harold… you're not dead yet?"
Crack!! What a stupid question—of course he wasn't dead; he was the final villain of the novel!!
Harold slightly raised his eyebrows.
"And you expected me to die after you ran away like a coward?" he mocked Casper.
Casper's face flushed a little, feeling embarrassed by Harold's sarcasm.
"Well, what did you expect me to do? Fight? You must be joking… This is your problem, don't drag others into it!"
Of course, he kept these comments to himself and didn't say them out loud.
"I didn't run away, I went to take care of the second man," he said, with the most obvious lie delivered in the most serious face he could muster. Harold's eyebrow rose slightly.
"Oh, right. You didn't even drop your bow and arrows so they wouldn't slow you down while escaping."
"For your information, I fought bravely."
"Yes, that's why you're in such a miserable state."
"Look who's talking."
Both of them were in pitiful condition—whether it was Casper, lying on the ground in a pathetic heap, or Harold, whose body had no intact spot left, riddled with holes and wounds from a rain of arrows.
"Tsk. You look like a piece of gum that's been chewed and spat on the ground."
"And you… you look like a filthy, tattered sponge!!"
"How dare you—"
"What's going on here!!"
Casper breathed a sigh of relief; Harold's fist was inches away from smashing his nose before it stopped at the sound of a voice coming from behind them.
Casper didn't have the strength to stop Harold's punch, so whoever had saved him—he was truly grateful. Of course, he didn't know who it was, because he was lying powerless on the ground due to his injuries and didn't have the energy to look behind him. Also, looking at his savior felt scarier than not knowing.
Sorry, dear savior, but I'd rather save my strength than look at you…
Thud… thud…
(P.S. Excuse the unnecessary sound effects 😂)
He heard heavy footsteps approaching them, and then a furious voice rang out:
"Didn't I say fighting between teams is forbidden?!!"
Tak.
In an instant, the sound of footsteps vanished, and a figure appeared in front of them.
"!!al!!"
A groan escaped both their lips as the man grabbed them by their arms and pulled them apart—lifting them as if they were feathers.
"-Wh…"
Casper was about to say something when he looked at the man holding him—and his face paled. It was Instructor James!!
Wait… what was this man doing here??
Casper's first meeting with Instructor James had been dreadful. He had skipped class for an entire week, and on the first day he finally attended, he was late. And now… now he was fighting with one of his classmates?
James's first impression of him was probably that he was a stupid, clumsy, irresponsible, and—lastly—weak person… which, yes, was true. But still! This time it wasn't his fault!!
Perhaps Instructor James thought they had been fighting, which was why he was holding them like this.
"Do you two want to kill each other…."
Instructor James suddenly stopped speaking and released their arms. His gaze fell on the corpse of the man lying on the ground, his expression turning blank. It seemed he had finally realized the truth—that the injuries on their bodies weren't from fighting each other, but from a life-or-death battle they had just gone through…
Casper stood alone in the hallway after Instructor James found out what had happened to them. The exam had been temporarily suspended. Many students complained about the sudden, "unjustified" interruption, but after seeing the fearsome, furious look on James's face, they decided to keep their complaints to themselves.
Sure, Instructor James was always angry—but this time… hmm, let's just say he was colder and more frightening than usual.
The first thing James did after they left the cell was lead Harold and Casper to the infirmary to check their condition. Along the way, they heard plenty of murmurs and whispers from the students:
—"Oh my god, it's the first time I've seen Instructor James this angry!!"
—"Are they going to be expelled?? But what could they have done to make him so furious?!"
—"Haa… so the beast finally did it."
Many mocked them, others wondered what had happened to them, and some questioned whether they were the reason for the exam's sudden halt… and on, and on…
Of course, being dragged by the instructor while you and your friend looked like a mess wasn't something people saw every day. The only story burned into everyone's mind was that they'd fought each other, James had intervened in their bloody brawl, the exam had been stopped because of them, and now the instructor was taking them away for disciplinary measures—maybe even expulsion for breaking the rules so blatantly…
Now, Casper stood in the hallway in front of the infirmary door. After they had been dragged there, the instructor ordered them to get treated and wait, as they would be giving their statements about the incident.
As for why Casper was standing outside instead of going in with Harold—it was because he refused to enter or receive treatment.
Some might wonder why. Simple: he hated doctors!!
He had no good memories with them…
Even though he knew the person inside was a healer, not a doctor—who cared? Healers were just superpowered doctors!
For those who don't know, healers are people who use time-based powers in limited ways to heal others. For example, if you broke your arm, the healer would use their ability on your arm to restore it to its previous state. Just to clarify—you wouldn't be sent back in time to before it broke; rather, your arm itself would be returned to its original condition. So, healers' control over time was limited.
But honestly, who cares about doctors or healers when he had natural healing powers?
Yes—he truly did have powerful healing abilities, the same ones that had helped close his wounds the first time he woke up in Casper's body.
"Pain or whatever—it doesn't matter. What matters is that I won't meet a doctor anytime soon!"
Yes, it didn't matter even if using his power hurt—he didn't care as long as no doctor came near him!
"Haaa…"
Casper took a deep breath.
Now, he was about to go through hell to heal himself. The process was extremely painful—he had already tried it when he first arrived in Casper's body. He had also experimented with it several times when he spent a week alone in his apartment. After hours and days of thinking, he'd decided to make a small cut to see how it worked. In that moment, he wished he'd never thought of such a stupid idea—even the smallest wound hurt like hell when healing!
He smiled bitterly as he looked at his pitiful state, regretting deeply that he'd decided to follow Harold. He wished he could go back in time and slap himself for such a foolish choice.
"I'm a pitiful idiot."
He almost cried over his own bad decisions, but he knew now wasn't the time for self-pity.
First, he made sure no one was in the hallway, then took a deep breath. It was time to begin.
He closed his eyes slightly and imagined a warm current flowing through his body. Within seconds, that current covered him entirely.
"Ahh…"
A groan escaped as the current began to grow hotter. Soon, it felt like his whole body was burning. His facial expression twisted from the pain. He wanted to scream, but stopped himself by biting his tongue—instead, he felt even greater pain.
His face turned pale, cold sweat dripping down his skin.
"Ughhh…"
Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore, his body collapsed to the cold floor, writhing in agony. Everything burned—not just his skin, but even his internal organs felt like they were on fire without flames.
Pain… pain!! Please, put it out! Put it out!!!
The pain devoured his body slowly—he felt like he was being burned alive. This awful torture lasted for several minutes before his condition finally stabilized.
"Hahh… hahh…"
He lay helplessly on the ground, gasping for breath, his mind completely numb and empty—too clouded to keep up with the pain. His once pure black eyes were now empty, lifeless.
He tried to push himself up against the hallway wall, but felt a sharp sting in his arm muscles. Still, he dragged his exhausted body to lean on the wall, tilting his head back to try to ease his headache. And then…
Cough… cough…
A fit of coughing shook him. Each cough felt like his lungs were tearing apart, as if someone was stabbing his chest thousands of times. Then, a bitter taste filled his mouth—he was coughing up blood.
He smiled bitterly as he wiped the blood from his lips.
Perhaps the only thought keeping him sane after everything today… was that he was going to rob some fools of their money!
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