NOVEL NEXT Chapter 127 – Reactions
Pain.
Pain was all Damion could feel as he began to stir to consciousness. Memories started to flow through his mind. Life on Earth. His death. Being reborn on Nerotath. His new family and their life together.
Damion winced at the memory from when he learned his mother, father and little sister had died in the beast wave.
The small reaction caused those gathered around Damion's bedside to murmur in relief that he was waking up.
The dim sound of voices around him helped Damion move past the memories of his family to remember the events prior to everything going black.
After pushing the giant Fire Scorpion into the hole, it must have cracked open the combustible liquid reservoir and ignited, but at that point Damion had to stop. There was no fire, how did it ignite?
'Air,' Damion recalled. 'The Fire Scorpion's liquid combusts when it makes contact with air.'
'System, status.' Damion called out in his mind. Despite the pain he was feeling, his mind was becoming clearer.
[Magic System]
[System Level: 2]
[User: Damion Wells]
[Age: 18]
[Magic Talent: EX]
[Magic Affinity: Ice EX]
[Mana: 1975/1975]
[Magic Power: 5,077]
[Mana Recovery: 6 P/S]
[Strength: 96]
[Dexterity: 101]
[Vitality: 125]
[Intelligence: 134]
[Experience: 3,000/10,000]
[Store Credits: 307]
'It looks like I'm fully recovered,' Damion thought as he reviewed the Magic System status window. 'Mr. Galen must have called for help.'
Now that he was sure he was not dead or dying, Damion decided to try and open his eyes. When he did the light in the room blinded him, it took a few moments, but his eyes began to adjust, and he was able to look around.
On one side of his bed was Mage Teft and a woman he did not recognize. On the other stood Ethan and Arica. As Damion's vision continued to clear he recognized where he was. He was in his house, in his own bed.
"How did I get here?" Damion asked as he tried to sit up in bed but was stopped by the woman he did not know.
"What do you remember?" Mage Teft asked.
"I was rolling a giant Fire Scorpion into a hole to bury it and it blew up in my face. Is Mr. Galen alright?"
"He is fine. He called the Association for help as soon as it happened. They contacted me and I brought in Mage Lynder to look after you. Since the Fire Scorpion was in the hole, the blast went mostly upward. Other than some ringing in his ears he was fine. You on the other hand were knocked unconscious and have been in a coma for a week."
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"A week?"
"Nine days actually," the unknown woman told him. Damion activated True Sight and saw she was at B Rank. This told Damion she was probably the healer, Mage Lynder, who was brought in to look after him.
"Any lasting damage?" Damion asked. Even though he was not really concerned since the Magic System showed him his status already, but he felt it was the normal thing to ask.
"No. You were very lucky," Mage Lynder said before turning to Mage Teft. "I'll be going then Helga. Glad the boy is alright."
"Mr. Galen says you fought a C Rank Fire Scorpion," Ethan said trying to get a conversation started.
"Yeah, I think I made it mad by killing so many of the little ones that it popped right out of the ground and started attacking. What are you doing here Ethan?" Damion could not help but question since that last he knew the young man was running shipments between towns in the Yellow Zone.
"I stopped by yesterday to catch up with you since you didn't have much time to talk in Bufort. And… well, sorry, about…"
"Killing a C Rank Ferocious Beast on your own is not an easy task," Arica said, trying to change the subject.
"I wasn't alone, Phil helped," Damion said causing everyone to become confused.
"Mr. Galen's first name is Henry," Ethan said to him.
"Phil is the name of the Snow Hawk that hangs around the farm," Damion clarified.
"Phil…" Ethan said in disbelief. "You named the Snow Hawk Phil?"
"Mr. Galen did." Damion answered. "Phil was quite a big help in the fight. After it was over he also got a nice feast."
"What Rank was this Snow Hawk, do you know?" Mage Teft asked Damion.
"D Rank. He never bothers people. Only ever goes after the Fire Scorpions."
"Now that you have killed off most of them do you think that will continue to be the case?" Mage Teft asked.
"Probably. But there are still plenty of Fire Scorpions in Mr. Galen's back fields. They will take a long time to clear out. I just helped him clear the front so he can use those fields freely."
"That was very thoughtful of you," Mage Teft told him. "But what were you thinking freezing the C Rank Fire Scorpion?"
"At first we were burning the bodies, but when the F Rank Fire Scorpion carcasses started exploded, I realized it was a bad idea to let the giant Fire Scorpion burn and so I put the fire out with Ice Breath."
"Do you know what makes the Fire Scorpion spray explode?" Mage Teft asked Damion.
"It's a reaction with the air."
"No, it isn't," Mage Teft told him which surprised both Damion and Ethan. "The Fire Scorpion's spray bursts into flame when it comes in contact with water."
"Water?" the two young men questioned at the same time.
"When the Fire Scorpion's spray hits the water vapor in the air it sets off a chain reaction causing it all to ignite," Arica chimed in.
"So… when I froze the Fire Scorpion and then it started to melt water vapor condensed onto the cooler surface and eventually found its way to the Fire Scorpion's venom reservoir."
"Precisely," Mage Teft told him.
"Then why where the others exploding in the fire?"
"As when anything burns, the fire erodes the surface and boils out any liquids. As this process occurs fluids from the carcasses would have been forced inward from the flames and run down the carcass to cooler areas. As the fluids were forced out of the flesh, if there was even a trace amount of water in those liquids when they connected with the venom reservoir, then you get the little explosions you were talking about. Looks like I need to make sure you take a class on Ferocious Beast anatomy at the academy."
'The academy!' Damion mentally screamed. He had been unconscious for nine days; how long did he have until he needed to report.
"When do classes start?" Damion asked. He knew he still had time, but that time was quickly running out.
"You still have more than a week before you have to be at Silver Spire Magic Academy. But you do need to start preparing. Attending a magic academy is not the same as your basic schooling. Every student is expected to perform well. The expectations on you are quite a bit higher as well."
"I guess I need to hurry up and sell the house then huh?" Damion said suddenly feeling a bit down.
"We've taken care of most of that for you," Arica told Damion.
"What do you mean?"
"While you were unconscious, since there was not much for us to do but wait and worry, we packed everything up. The only room left to get packed up is yours and you don't exactly have a lot."
"Packed it all up?" Damion questioned for a moment considering what they meant. Arica, Ethan and Mage Teft had packed all of his parents' and sister's belongings. "What did you do with it all?"
"We bought a storage container for you. All you have to do is pay a storage fee to a place in the warehouse district and they will keep it all there for you. You can go through it later. Keep what you want or get rid of it all. But we needed something to do to pass the time and it needed to be done."
"Thank you," Damion said as he fought back tears brought out by the thoughts of his family. "What about our ground car and the house?"
"I've arranged for buyers for both," Mage Teft told Damion. "All you have to do is sign and they will transfer the funds to your payment card."
"I guess this really is it then," Damion said as he looked at the faces of his two friends and teacher. As much as saying goodbye to his home hurt, he needed to do it. And perhaps doing so would help him move forward. "Get me the paperwork. I think tomorrow I'll be ready to head out, if that works for you."