Everything was frozen in place, but that did not mean Nero’s mind had stopped working. Far from it, in fact. Without needing to focus on attacking or reacting to attacks, he could finally relax.
His eyes were locked onto the woman’s, and though they seemed to be in the exact same position, there seemed to be a hint of gloating or teasing in Nero’s eyes. Though the victor of the fight had not been decided, clearly Nero felt that the ultimate victory would have been his own.
Conversely, there was only anger in the woman’s eyes, though this time her fury was on the fact that Nero thought himself the victor. How could he, covered in blood, looking like he crawled out of a grave, be the victor? Unfortunately for her, the only reason she thought that was because she had no idea what she looked like at the moment.
"Look at all that property damage. I can only imagine the kind of punishment you’re going to be getting for that," the man said after taking a long pull from that pipe. "Guess we know where that renovation budget is going to go."
Nero, of course, heard nothing. He was analysing the situation, wondering where Roland and Ben had scurried off to. What kind of hazing was this? Did they even stick around to watch? Would they still get into trouble for causing all this? It seemed somewhat unlikely, to be honest.
Eventually, once the piped man got things under control, he dismissed his ability allowing Nero to regain control of his body. Nero did not linger, however, as he was quickly taken by some medics to Dr. Iris, who practically ran out of her office when she heard Nero was injured again.
She was not running out of concern, but out of excitement. She almost hoped that Nero had tried to enter the Arcanist state again. Unfortunately for her, Nero took her warning very seriously, not to mention it was not something he could do at will.
"Can you hear me yet?" Iris asked as she snapped her fingers in front of Nero’s face. Restoring eardrums was not something Ayurvedists could do, which is why she had to rely on some of the healing cards provided by the academy.
"Yes, yes, I hear you," Nero said, only then realising that his own voice was quite hoarse. He tried to get up from the table he was laying on, but discovered that his body couldn’t move.
"Lay still," Iris said as she poked Nero’s body in various parts, sending warm pulses of aether in his body. "The academy is actually very well equipped. They even have medical cards focused on specific parts of the ear, let alone everything else. That doesn’t mean your treatment is done - far from it. There’s literally tissue damage all across your body - do you literally not feel pain? How can you keep pushing yourself in such a condition?"
Nero chuckled. Of course he felt pain - he felt it quite vividly. But Nero had long overcome that natural instinct that caused the body to shudder at the thought or threat of pain.
Nero diverted his focus on Dr. Iris. He saw her tap his body, as she always did, and sensed her psuh aether into his body. He could not help but think of the Ayurvedist combat style Vilhelm had mentioned.
"Dr. Iris, is there a specialised combat style for all Professions? Or just Ayurvedists?" Nero asked while she worked.
Dr. Iris raised an eyebrow, but did not stop the treatment.
"There are basic styles and guidelines for all Professions, naturally. The effectiveness of each style varies, and it depends on how much the style suits the person rather than the profession. The Ayurvedist combat style, for example, relies on focus points spread throughout the opponent’s body.
"Humans and Aetherkin both have them, but most cursed beings don’t have them. The actual effectiveness in real combat, though, is highly limited, at least for me. I would need to get up close and strike your focus point precisely, and channel just the right amount of aether into it.
"That would then either seal off your internal aether in that region or affect your body. The problem is that the focus points aren’t on fixed locations. They vary slightly in position in each person, and then move even more as the person flexes or relaxes their muscles. Accurately finding it in the midst of combat, and then striking it is not really feasible.
"However, the purpose of this combat method is not actually combat. It’s better suited to treatment, which is why Ayurvedists are encouraged to become doctors. When a patient is sitting still in front of me, I can easily locate the focus points and then use them to treat the patient."
Nero did not say anything, and instead thought about how Vilhelm had been able to strike his focus point in the brief time he was knocked out. Achieving something like that... was impressive.
"You thinking about the brat?" Iris asked. Though she did not say a name, or give any hints as to who she was referring to, it was obvious enough.
"No, just reminding myself that if I slack off, I’ll fall back behind," Nero said as his gaze lost focus.
Iris chuckled.
"Don’t think too much about these things. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life is a long game. Immediate benefits and success don’t mean anything in the long run. Besides, you have other things you need to be focusing on."
Nero looked towards Iris.
"Are you talking about the girl I fought? Will she cause problems?" He asked, causing Iris to burst into laughter.
"Oh the Burns girl? Yes, she will definitely cause you problems. I’ve studied her as well. She’s a very serious insomniac, to the point where even many cards don’t work on her. I’m actually unable to figure out a solution for her at the moment. You interrupted her sleep, and she will hold that grudge for the rest of her natural life.
"But she’s not who I’m talking about. I’m talking about Isabella. You’ve gone and done it now. That’s a maniac who’s obsessed with teaching, and you’ve given her a free for all pass. Your life is about to become extremely miserable, and don’t think quitting will make things any better. I highly doubt it."
Nero smiled, Ah yes, his new schedule. He was looking forward to it.
"When I heard you got into a fight, I rushed on over to treat you. You know who else rushed? Isabella? She rushed to conjure up a sufficiently daunting punishment for you. I’d try to save you from her, but she’s an Ascendant and I’m a Mystic. There’s nothing I can do to her."
Nero shook his head.
"I’m not too worried about it. If anything, I’m looking forward to it," he said reassuringly. Yet Iris only shook her head. Nero did not understand yet, but he would.
"Your treatment is going to take approximately five hours, after which you will require at least a couple of days of bedrest to give your body sufficient time to heal," she said, giving him an overview of what to expect.
"Ah, so the training will be delayed a bit," Nero said, assuming that’s what she meant. However, once again, Iris shook her head.
"No. You have orders. In three hours you have to report to the drill ground. You know, the body is a truly remarkable thing. Under sufficient stress, it can pull off amazing things. I look forward to studying your body’s response to what Isabella has planned for you."
Nero looked at Iris oddly. Was she joking? She had to be joking, right? Why did it seem like she wasn’t joking? Was he to go to the drill before recovering from his injuries?
Three hours later, still covered in dry blood, his muscles and bones aching, as Nero stood in the drill ground wearing his body weights, he finally concluded that Iris hadn’t been joking.
If there was one thing that made it better, he wasn’t the only one there. So were the rest of his barrack mates, as well as all the girls they had fought against. There were also a bunch of other, unaffiliated people lining up as well, making a total of almost 200 cadets standing in the drill ground before first call, all looking worn out or raggled.
Oh, also, there were massive logs placed in front of them.
"Eight cadets to the log. Pick it up and start running," a stern voice rang out in the open sky, without anyone there. The cadets all wondered who had spoken, even as they ran to pick up the logs.
This was incredibly unfair to everyone else, but Nero wasn’t concerned about that. He spotted the girl he had been fighting from afar, and winked at her. As long as she was suffering too, he didn’t mind this at all.