After pulling out and storing the rest of the peppermint crystals, Nick led Hellen to the outside of the shadow goblins' lair. Standing outside the entrance to the underground space, the sun was still shining brightly in the sky and the air was fresh and clean.
Nick faced Hellen who now wore a plain light-blue jeans pants that did not fit her exactly and a blue t-shirt with no designs. He then asked her:
"What do you intend to do now?"
Hellen shifted her face shyly and then looked Nick in the eyes to ask:
"Aren't you going to ask me how I got down there or how I'm doing now?"
Nick's expression immediately changed from neutral to one of indifference and he replied:
"Miss, I can appreciate what you had to endure down there and don't worry, I won't go running my mouth about it but how you got to be down there or how you are doing right now is none of my business. I don't plan on making it mine either. The only reason I haven't left already is because I foolishly don't wish to leave you here if you are unable to find your way to Shelter Town on your own."
Hellen opened her eyes wide in surprise in response to Nick's words, tears slowly emerging from her eyes as she replied:
"I would like to return to Shelter Town but I am not confident that I can find my way back safely on my own. I don't have any supplies since those were held by the people that I came here with but they all died having a battle with the goblins and admittedly, I am still a little shaken from the ordeal."
Nick nodded his head in understanding and assured:
"I will take you back to Shelter Town with me, no worries. Are you afraid of heights?"
The question confused Hellen because it was so out of the blue but she answered simply:
"Not especially."
Nick replied:
"Good."
With Pressure Piece securely sheathed at his left side, Nick focused on forming the laws for his two spells within his mindscape and after thinking about the adjustments he would have to make in executing them well considering the current circumstance, he cast:
(Absolute Push.)
(Absolute Pull.)
Hellen felt her soul quiver as Nick and her were raised slowly upwards into the sky. Nick raised Hellen and himself by about twenty meters before moving them both in the direction of Shelter Town.
Hellen was at first scared that Nick would eventually drop her but after twenty minutes she calmed down, seeing that Nick had great control over his magic powers. Nick noticed her change from worried to calm and internally scoffed:
(Of course I know what I am doing. Its not every day that you encounter a space path master and a soul path scholar so I will forgive your ignorance just this once.)
Nick lightly chuckled as his mood turned for the better after dealing with the muscular shadow goblin.
(That magic beast seemed far weaker than I remember but I suppose I can attribute that to me catching it by surprise and being able to severely injure it so early on. The spell that Slade suspected that the goblin had been casting must have been when it was playing with her...)
Nick looked at Hellen from the corner of his eyes and sighed.
(The world of magic is cruel, even crueler than the world I grew up in. That's why I have to get stronger no matter what.)
While Nick paid attention to his thoughts, Hellen suddenly interrupted him with a question:
"Why has it gotten so cold all of a sudden?"
Nick stopped their movements immediately since he also felt the change in the temperature.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a bluish wind blew towards their position at rapid speed as the temperature plummeted the closer it got but neither Nick nor Hellen were fooled by its form. Nick quickly instructed Hellen:
"Don't make any rash movements or use your magic carelessly, I will deal with the enemy!"
(Dominate The Space.)
Even though maintaining three powerful space path spells simultaneously was difficult, Nick's well developed mindscape and his high attainment allowed him to do it, albeit barely.
A pulse of slightly grey magic power flew out into the surroundings, enveloping the cold wind and immediately when the bluish wind was about five meters away from them and Nick confirmed that it was unnatural using the slight sensory capabilities of his altered space, Nick raised his right hand near to his face. He then snapped his right index and middle fingers, teleporting Hellen, the bluish wind and himself to the ground instantly.
Nick and Hellen had been flying over a grassy field sparse of trees so there were no obstructions around them when they appeared on the ground. Nick unsheathed Pressure Piece with his right hand and prepared himself mentally for battle while Hellen stepped backward, making sure that she was not in Nick's way. The bluish cold wind faintly squirmed due to the suppression effect of Dominate The Space but those effects only lasted less than one second before fading away.
The bluish wind did not move forward immediately, however, and encircled a section of grass while the grass beneath it froze, a layer of thick ice quickly forming.
Nick wasn't interested in drawing out this encounter since the temperature continued to plummet and he was wary of hypothermia. He shouted at the cold wind while maintaining a menacing glare:
"Whoever you are, since you haven't successfully attacked me yet, I will look the other way if you just leave right now but if you insist on fighting, then I will send you to your grave."
Nick did not want to fight because he had Hellen close by and he sensed that his opponent was troublesome just from he quality of their magic power.
The bluish cold wind continued to encircle its position for about three seconds more before it receded, changing into the form of a person. The person's features were soon revealed and so a young man with silver hair and blue eyes, wearing a pair of white denim pants and a thick sweater faced Nick while sporting an indifferent expression.
Nick raised his right eyebrow, thinking that the man in front of him looked familiar.
(He should be the ice path Magician that was present when the light path Magician dominated the battlefield on the grassy plain. I didn't get his name before.)
Nick asked aloud:
"Who are you?"
Seeing that Nick was reluctant to fight and that his magic power was very peculiar, the man decided that he should handle the situation peacefully. He replied:
"My name is Uriah Narco of Raylam Priest Academy. You are Nick Capitol, correct?"
Honestly, Nick was sick of being asked if he was Nick Capitol but he answered anyway, maintaining his own indifferent expression:
"That's me, now what do you want?"
Uriah nodded once and replied:
"I only approached you before because I noticed you while I was traveling to Shelter Town. I want some answers as to what happened to the inheritance."
Nick internally sighed before replying:
"The whole inheritance matter was only my scheme that I used to incite a battle. It does not exist."
Uriah closed his eyes for two seconds in response to hearing that, then slowly reopened them, coming to grips with the probable reality. He replied:
"Fine, I suspected that to be a possibility anyway. I just wanted to make sure."
Nick said in response:
"You know, I could be lying."
Uriah squinted his eyes in response to Nick's words and looked at him grudgingly, exuding some of his magic energy. Feeling Uriah's surging magic energy, Nick revealed a forced smile and reassured:
"I'm only joshing you, bro. The inheritance never existed and I'm currently stuck at rank 2 like you. Relax. If that's all, we are going on our way now."
Nick was about to turn around when Uriah stopped him:
"Wait! Tell me, what do you think of William Rollins?"
Nick replied:
"Who?"
Uriah explained:
"He was the light path Magician that bested both of us. What are your opinions of his magic power?"
Nick clearly knew who Uriah was referring to once he explained it and at the time of the battle, Nick was impressed by William's power. He offered his opinion plainly:
"He was strong, probably the strongest rank 2 Magician I've ever met. At the time of our last encounter, I probably would have had very little chance of defeating him on my own."
It was Uriah's turn to raise his right eyebrow after hearing Nick's words.
(This guy doesn't mind admitting to his own weakness in front of other Magicians. Strange...)
Uriah asked in reply:
"And now?"
Nick's indifferent expression suddenly transformed into a smug grin as he lightly chuckled and replied:
"I would fight for a few hundred rounds without losing now."
Uriah's expression also changed into a smug grin after hearing that response and he muttered:
"Yeah...same here."
Nick didn't wast anymore time. His expression reverted back to one of indifference and he turned around before casting Absolute Push And Absolute Pull to raise Hellen and himself into the air, continuing there journey back to Shelter Town.
Uriah's expression also reverted back to one of indifference as he observed Nick's and Hellen's moving figures for a while after they left. He soon muttered:
"I can't lose out to that weird guy. Hmmm...now that I think about it, what's with his eyes? They are definitely different from the last time that I saw him."
Uriah shook his head, knowing that that wasn't his concern at the moment. He cast Embodiment Of Cold once again, transforming into bluish cold wind and flowing towards Shelter Town.
Three days later...
Nick and Hellen had now reached the arid area that encircled Shelter Town after traveling for three days straight, only stopping to eat and relieve themselves.
Nick did not talk to Hellen for most of the trip and she did not seem to mind as she stayed quiet as well. About an hour after reaching the arid lands, they finally approached the entrance to Shelter Town which was carved out of its walls. Nick thought with slight emotion:
(I'm back after such a long time.)
Nick did not want to be targeted by the guarding soldiers so he slowly lowered Hellen and himself onto the ground, near to the entrance to the town and after they calmly walked through the passage way to get into the town, getting past the guarding soldiers, Nick said his goodbyes to Hellen:
"Best of luck to you, miss. I will be going now."
Hellen shifted her body shyly for a few moments before she firmed her resolve and spoke while looking Nick in the eyes:
"Mr. Nick, thank you for helping me. I'm going to repay you some day. My full name is Hellen Basby by the way and I'm a student of Richter Order Academy. I hope we see each other again."
Nick felt strangely pleased that the woman's ordeal had not defeated her but he doubted that they would see each other again. Nick slightly smiled and cast Blink, disappearing from Hellen's view.
He cast Blink three more times before finding his way to Nicholas Flint's barber shop and getting a trim and shave. The old man greeted Nick warmly and spent almost an hour working on Nick's hair and telling him stories about his past adventures in the military.
After he was done working on Nick's hair, he awkwardly asked Nick who was getting up from the barber chair:
"Sonny, what happened to your eyes?"
Nick was puzzled:
"What do you mean?"
Nicholas replied:
"Huh? Haven't you noticed that they are different from when you last came here."
Nick had obtained his Eyes of the Fated Talent only a few months ago and since then, he had never looked in a mirror so he was not aware of any change and if there were a change, he thought that it would likely not be that noticeable.
Nick went in front of one of the barber shop's mirrors and took a good look at himself. He suddenly realized that his eyes had changed drastically. Before, his irises were pitch black with red rings around them but now they were a bright sky blue with a spiral of magic power inside each of them; he could not even see his pupils. Such an extreme change was shocking but Nick did not let it show.
He turned to face Nicholas while awkwardly scratching the back of his head and saying:
"I guess my training had some unexpected results."
Nicholas nodded in understanding and reminded Nick:
"Just remember to pace yourself properly. You don't want to end up suddenly exploding because you rushed your growth. Unexpected results shouldn't be taken lightly."
Nick appreciated the advice since he knew that it was the correct way to think. He thanked Nicholas for the hair cut and the advice , then left the barber shop for Inn Number 1, where his personal room was situated.
After casting Blink a few times and walking through Inn Number 1's lobby, Nick went to his room and as soon as he opened the door, he was hit with the fresh sent of air freshener. The room had clearly been cleaned while he was away.
(It's a good thing that I did not stupidly leave anything lying around.)
Nick sat at the rooms table and took out a meal of fried chicken and brown rice from his space band and voraciously ate it. When he was done, he thought about what his plans should be for the remainder of the exam:
(There are about eight months left until the exam is over and frankly, I no longer care about gathering points, not since I discovered my talents and awakened the Eyes of the Fated. I should spend my time studying going forward. I still have to improve many of my current spells and develop new ones using all that I have learnt and experienced. Oh, and I also have this.)
Nick summoned a small token from his space band that had three five pointed stars imprinted on both sides of it.
(I should cash this in and buy some new materials and food before I lock myself in this room.)
Nick went to the bathroom for a quick shower before heading to the Main Tower to redeem his token.
About thirty minutes later, Nick stood in front of the Main Tower building which had an exterior almost completely lined with black brick in combination with a silver steel alloy. Nick estimated that this tall building must have at least fifty floors, the top most of which were the offices of powerful Magicians and Ministry of Magic officials.
He entered the building's lobby through its automatic sliding glass door and went towards the counter with a sign that read: 'Magical Weapons and Materials Requisitions'. Nick hoped to see the woman that he had done business through before, Tanya, but she was no where to be seen and a tall middle aged white man with neatly trimmed black hair who wore a white and black three piece suit waited at the counter with a pleasant expression.
(Its natural for people to have moved on after not seeing them for a long time. I'm probably going to spend much of my life meeting persons who I will likely never see again.)
Slade remarked in response to that thought:
[That is natural when you are focused on your own path.]
Nick walked up to the counter and placed the token that he received from Timothy Reynold in front of the clerk, saying:
"Hello, sir. I was told by a military officer named Timothy Reynold that I could use this token to obtain some supplies. Could you please help me with that?"
The clerk lightly smiled and replied:
"Sure thing. What kind of supplies do you want?"
Nick replied:
"First, I would like a new magic sword. Can I have a list of the ones that you have available?"
The clerk put on a thoughtful expression and then replied:
"Normally, there would be a screening process required for the requisition of magic weapons but since you are redeeming a military token, the process is waived."
Nick already knew about the screening process and was not worried about it in the first place since he was an honorary Corporal, a title bestowed to him by the ministry itself. The clerk handed Nick a tablet computer with a list detailing swords that were available and he carefully went through it, thinking:
(Pressure Piece is a great sword and it has helped me much but it does not suit me because its base materials is made of the bones of a tyrant dragon which is a qi path magic beast. I need a weapon that complements my own affinities.)
Nick scanned through the list and came upon a few good choices, namely: the intermediate grade sword called Obsidian which was made from parts of a rank 2 blade path magic beast, an intermediate grade sword named Space Prick which was made from a rare space path steel alloy and an advance grade sword name Blood Chaser which was made from the teeth of rank 2 blade path vengeful porcupine.
All three of them were meant for apprentices and Nick thought that the advanced grade sword was the likely pick since advanced grade meant that the sword was equipped with at least one active spell where as intermediate just meant that the sword at least had a feint magical characteristic. Nick was about to make a choice when he came upon a peculiar entry for a basic grade sword.
The sword's name was listed as Failed Tool and it was described as the faulty creation of a blade path master that is employed by the ministry. Its description goes on to say that the blade path master discovered too late that the materials he had used to make the sword had been tampered with by a Magician with a higher attainment than himself which resulted in the sword remaining dull no matter how it was sharpened and unable to manifest its magical characteristics so it has remained at basic grade.
The sword was supposedly made from the blood essence of rank 3 blade dragon, a blade path magic beast which is as famous as its sword path counter part, the sword dragon. Both magic beasts mature at around rank 7. The sword is probably the cheapest on the list but Nick liked the fact that it had a interesting backstory behind its creation.
Nick asked the clerk:
"Can I obtain more than one sword?"
The clerk shook his head and then replied:
"Regulations prevent us from selling multiple weapons to one person within a short period of time. You'll have to wait four months before you can obtain another sword but your token is only for one time use."
Nick internally sighed and made his choice:
"Then I will take the Failed Tool sword."
The clerk slightly raised his right eyebrow in confusion, thinking:
(Why would this man want a dull magic sword that cannot be sharpened or its magic used?)
Nick noticed the clerk's confusion but was not going to waste time explaining his intentions. He quickly moved on:
"Next, I would like a few books. I want ones relating to sword creation, magic tool creation, blacksmithing and magic beast materials. Give me the best you have on each. You can make the decision."
The clerk nodded and replied:
"Understood."
Next, Nick asked for something that he was not planning on leaving without:
"I need a blade path inheritance. Do you have that."
The man looked through his own tablet computer before replying:
"We do but since blade path is relatively common as opposed to sword path, we don't bother selling inheritances for it that weren't developed by the ministry itself. Your token only gives you access to our standard military rank 2 blade path inheritance and all the items that you've already chosen in addition to the inheritance will amount to the limit for which this token can be redeemed."
Nick was satisfied with his choices and told the clerk that he would take them immediately. The clerk left the counter for ten minutes to go to the tower's storage area from where he returned ten minutes later with Nick's items. Nick thought:
(The last time that I bought a sword, I had to wait twenty minutes just to get it. Why is the wait so much shorter now?)
As if the clerk had intuited Nick's question from his half-puzzled expression, he went ahead and provided and answer:
"I have the authority to expedite the weapons requisition process because I am a junior enforcer in training. Junior enforcers are basically operational inspectors for the ministry."
Nick nodded his head silently in understanding.
(That makes sense.)
The tall man summoned the items from his space band and Nick retrieved them. The sword, Failed Tool, was packaged in special wrapping paper and it was about 0.7 meters long and had a rich iron scent to it. The four books that Nick had requested were each the size of an encyclopedia and from briefly going through their contents, he determined that the concepts within were almost completely novel to himself.
Nick was surprised when he found out that the blade path inheritance was being issued in the form of a thick manual. Nick looked at the tall man with a questioning gaze when he handed over the inheritance and the man then spoke in response:
"As I said before, this inheritance is standard issue so of course it has been encoded like this. We would not give memory pills to every Tom, Dick and Harry that wanted a copy of this inheritance. The ministry would go bankrupt."
Nick stored his items and then thanked the tall man, following which, he went to other counters to barter using the peppermint crystals that he had obtained from the goblins' lair in order to obtain various soul path, space path and blade path materials. Apparently, peppermint crystals had high value, even more so if sold on Grand Earth. Nick only bartered a little less than 20% of the peppermint crystals that he had and he received food and materials worth about £65,000,000 in return.
Nick soon left the Main Tower and he arrived at his room with Inn Number 1 at about 9 pm, ecstatic about his purchases. He did not go to bed immediately upon returning, concerned that he would bite his tongue from laughing in his sleep.
He first decided on his next course of actions:
(Over the remainder of the exam, I should familiarize myself more with my Cursed Vessel talent since that seems to be the only one with an ability that I can actively control. I need to work on my spells and learn about magic tools and their uses. I have to meditate as much as I can since I can't get to rank 3 without putting effort into that. I also have to figure out how to fix my Failed Tool sword which I suspect should be possible with my Eyes of the Fated Talent even if my attainment in blade path is not high.)
Nick felt like his last objective was unlikely to be achieved in a small amount of time but knew that it was still worth it to put some effort towards it. Nick went to bed shortly after deciding on his goals.
The next morning, Nick begun his dive into his new books on sword creation, blacksmithing, magic tool creation and magic beast materials. He read them carefully during the days and meditated at night. He followed this routine until he committed the contents of each book to memory which took around two months. Nick did not leave his room the entire period and when he was finished with those books, he tackled the blade path inheritance that he had obtained from the Main Tower.
This would be Nick's second blade path inheritance that he obtained but this time, he did not plan on really using the spells within, he wanted to absorb the information so that he could innovate by creating new and improved spells of his own. Nick formed this intention after realizing that his attainments grew by leaps and bounds through creating and improving spells.
Also, with his Eyes of the Fated talent, Nick realized that he had the ultimate advantage in creating spells since he was able to see important patterns among the spells' laws and easily decipher their deep meaning, even to the exclusion of select portions of the laws. It was like he had a helper on his shoulder telling him the best parts of a spell's construction and how he could reapply them for the greatest benefit. Nick soon further realized that this also aided him in increasing his attainment in the paths that he had affinities for.
He spent three months religiously studying the inheritance and meditating and at the end of that time, his mind was practically bursting with ideas for new spells, he even started to intuit how the information that he had studied could be applied to the creation of swords but only vaguely.
With about three months left until the mid-year exam was over, Nick dived into working on spells while also trying to understand his Cursed Vessel talent better. For the latter goal, he meditated while trying to sense the dreadful aura inhabiting him but he had little success in doing so; he, however, kept on trying.
At the end of nearly three months, Nick had a line up of six new spells, three of which were purely blade path, two rule path and one space path. The latter one was was created after taking inspiration from a spell that Nick had used before but had not treated as particularly important - Plunder Grasp. It was a theft path and space path spell that allowed one to steal an object within someone else's possession. Nick was able to isolate the space path laws and create a spell that would allow him to accurately sense the state of distant spaces.
Nick quickly took out his note book and wrote notes about his new spells while laughing maniacally:
____________________________________________________________________
Mystic Blade: A rank 2 intermediate grade blade path spell that allows its castor to perform one swing of his bladed weapon directly against an opponent with supernatural speed, imperceptible to that opponent. This spell automatically adjusts the castors movement speed based on the visual prowess of the opponent and it only makes the bladed weapon imperceptible to the eyes.
Blade Escape: a rank 2 intermediate grade blade path spell that allows its castor to ride on a gust of blade aura to move forward quickly. This spell only allows forward movement in one direction with each cast. The quickness of the movement has some relation to the quality of the wielded blade.
Blade Aura: a rank 2 intermediate grade blade path spell that allows the castor to force blade aura out of a wielded blade indefinitely. This aura increases the sharpness with which the blade cuts and creates wounds that are significantly more difficult to heal than wounds created without the blade aura. Requires 60 magical units per second to maintain.
Prolonged Courage: a rank 2 intermediate grade rule path spell that can be maintained indefinitely. The castor's magic power increases in quality with each offensive spell successfully cast at an opponent following this spell's activation. The increase in magic power is dependent on the quality of the offensive spell used and damage done to the opponent. The increase in magic power quality only lasts for as long as this spell is active. Requires 100 magical units per second to maintain.
Courage In Sacrifice: a rank 2 intermediate grade rule path spell that can be cast in response to a magically induced injury. The castor's magic energy reserves are restored in magical units equivalent to 5% of the magic power used to create the injury.
Warp Sense: a rank 2 advanced grade space path spell that allows its castor to accurately sense the details within a ten by ten by ten meters cubed space up to twenty meters away from him. The spell's effects are able to pass through solid objects and defenses that are at most apprentice grade and have inferior magic power quality. Spaces affected by this spell will subtly distort, alerting those within the space of its use.
________________________________________________________________________
Nick was satisfied with his months of effort and was now only waiting for the exam to conclude at this point. His only unease came from the fact that he still could not grasp the aura that was related to his Cursed Vessel talent.
He tried to sense it every night while he meditated but his efforts seemed to be in vain as he failed to make use of it. Nick got up from his desk and sat cross legged on the floor, beginning his meditation and maintained his position for the next three days without having any progress on manifesting the dreadful aura.
When he was about to give up and move on to something else, however, he suddenly remembered the first time that he had witnessed the appearance of the mysterious being that cursed him. The figure was shrouded in darkness, only his seemingly ruby red eyes being clearly visible. The figure had used his magic power to destroy a very durable magic tool with a flick of his finger.
Nick focused on the memory of those ruby red eyes that seemed to look down on the whole world, cold and void of emotion. Suddenly, Nick felt a shiver go down his spine; within his mind, his memory suddenly seemed to take on a life of its own as the mysterious figure's eyes slightly shifted to focus on him. If Nick tried to put into words what he was feeling right now, he only needed one:
(Afraid.)
Yes, he was afraid. The mysterious figure's presence radiated malice and a sense of tragedy. It was like even the memory of him had the mysterious figure's magic power embedded into it.
As Nick maintained the memory, sweat fell from his face in beads and soon he found himself unable to take his attention off the memory or even move his body. Nick had become completely drawn into a scenario that he did not understand. It was like he was looking through a lens at this point, one that he could not put down.
(What the hell is happening?)
The mysterious figure maintained his glare at him and spoke with his gravely, eerie voice:
"You shouldn't try to peer into what you cannot simply cut in two, little fly. I can see that you have come a long way, evolving from the maggot that you were but you are still worthless."
Nick tried to argue with the mysterious figure but he could not speak or create sounds. The mysterious figure squinted its eyes in scorn and spoke further:
"Don't bother speaking. I don't want to hear your drivel. A tool does not have the right to reason with me. If you wish to be more than merely my tool, however, to be my loyal steed, my servant with some value, I require better results than what you have now."
The mysterious figure suddenly manipulated the darkness that shrouded him and manipulated it in order to envelop Nick's vision like a hurricane wind. Nick could no longer see but as he was drowned in a feeling of almost intolerably, crippling fear, he heard the mysterious figure's voice say:
"Let me warn you, if you waste my efforts, little fly, you will surely die a death by ten thousand burning cuts!"
Nick suddenly regained control of his body and he forced his eyes wide open, following which bloody but shallow cuts appeared all over his body, not even spearing his genitals and only avoiding his spiraling blue eyes. Nick lost his composure in response and fell back onto the floor, writhing in agony.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Nick screamed without restraint while a formless aura emerged from his body and enveloped the entirety of Inn Number 1.
All the students and Ministry of Magic employees sensed it and most froze in fear, some literally emptied their bowels or relieved their bladders on the spot and a minor few directly jumped out the glass windows near were they were standing or sitting in order to escape the building and the terror inducing aura.
Those students and staff that escaped quickly reported the incident to the nearest soldiers that they found which included a young man with glowing purple eyes and a head full of short, black, curly hair. One student shouted:
"There must be a strong magic beast inside the inn! Everyone there froze in fear suddenly. You're soldiers, right? Go save them."
One of the staff members frantically spoke:
"Aren't you people doing your jobs? How could you let something like that get into the town?"
Sergeant Dave McKoy frowned and ordered his two subordinates behind him:
"Follow me."
The three of them ran towards the inn and arrived in less than three minutes. After they ran through the wooden double door entrance, McKoy's two rank 2 subordinates frowned in response to sensing the dreadful aura and stood on the spot almost paralyzed by fear, one man saying.
"Sir, I don't think that this is a magic beast."
McKoy snorted and enveloped himself in a purple, viscous liquid that then spiraled towards the ceiling and seeped into it, going through the floor above until it approached Nick's room where McKoy sensed that he would find the source of the aura.
Within Nick's room, a purple, viscous liquid suddenly seeped through the floor and quickly morphed into Sergeant McKoy's human figure; the latter stood with his feet firmly planted onto the floor and his emblem of two crimson stars on his left chest area glistening from the sunlight coming through the room's one window.
He stared at the injured Nick who was bleeding from his cuts while lying on his back on the floor, writhing in pain from the sudden change taking place within him.
Sergeant McKoy quickly spread out his rank 3 aura in order to counter Nick's own aura but when he did that, his perspective suddenly changed and a figure with ruby-red eyes shrouded in darkness appeared standing immediately in front of him. The figure reached out its hand that was bleeding an intensely sickening, pitch black aura towards Mckoy's face. McKoy, for some reason found himself unable to move in response.
Just as the dreadful hand was inches away from palming his face, however, the scene dissipated like a puff of smoke and Nick who had been previously writhing on the floor jumped to his feet and immediately summoned six bottles of minor healing potions, downing each with one gulp. When he was finished, his cuts all closed and he was basically healed except for his shaken senses.
He suddenly realized that someone else was standing in the room with him and turned his attention towards the left corner, at which point he saw Sergeant Dave McKoy, the man who he had met before when he almost became the victim of the sergeant's poison path method. Nick was a little unnerved, seeing the Sergent standing there looking at him with a plain expression.
Nick looked at the sergeant and the sergeant looked back at him. The atmosphere became awkward in seconds and Dave McKoy then spoke first:
"Nick Capitol, why do you insist on creating problems everywhere you go?"