《Haunting history》


 Main Chapter 1, Zure, Sebt 28

    I¡¯m always told I¡¯m too nice for my own good. ¡°Zure, you should be more selfish¡±, they say. Today I really felt it. Not that I hate it, of course, as I enjoy helping people. But seems like saving this one girl is not over in a day or two. Let me start from the beginning. I was on my way home from school yesterday afternoon. Classes had ended early and she¡¯s lucky I was on my way when it was still light. Usually after school practice continues quite late.


    The road from my school, Enthrodtia¡¯s School of Magic and Martial Arts usually called Ent¡¯s MagMa, runs through thick forests. The visibility there is already limited, not to mention if it was dark. She wasn¡¯t on the road. I found her a couple meters away, collapsed on the ground. I couldn¡¯t even begin to guess why she was there. Most magical and non-magical beasts keep their distance, since Ent¡¯s MagMa uses all nearby dangerous creatures as practice targets. They have long ago learned to stay north of Rsinna, the city nearby, or far enough south. And as far as I know this country, Enthrodtia, doesn¡¯t have any human trafficking and what little bandits there are, they terrorise smaller towns.


    She wouldn¡¯t wake up no matter what I did, so I carried her to a hospital in Rsinna. I live about midway between Ent¡¯s MagMa and Rsinna so I dropped off my things at home before running the rest of the way. Rsinna is a city of schools as well as Enthrodtia¡¯s second large city. There are many different vocational schools, the Second High School for nobles that actually has a better reputation than the First High School in the capital and then there is my school which because of its size is located about an hour walk south from Rsinna. The whole area outside of town is one large forest except for the river and lake to the east. Rsinna was actually supposed to be a port town by the river, but as the land there is too wet for large buildings, it ended up in the forest.


    Although it¡¯s quiet in the forest, once you arrive to the main road and the south gate, it gets noisy. The southern main road leads to the capital so of course it¡¯s busy. Inside as well. Rsinna is mostly populated by the craftsmen and merchants who want their kids to enrol in the various schools. That keeps all the markets bustling from sunrise to sundown and also attracts many traders from elsewhere. Even abroad. Carrying someone through the crowds at this time of day is not easy and the hospital just has to be in the middle of the city.


    At least the girl doesn¡¯t seem to be in any immediate danger, her breathing is steady and she doesn¡¯t seem to have any wounds. Makes me wonder even more exactly what has caused her to not wake up. The ride here on my back must not have been too comfortable either. Finally, I reached the hospital. It¡¯s one of the largest buildings in Rsinna, as students from Ent¡¯s MagMa sometimes get too injured for the school to take care of, but inside Rsinna rare work accidents are about the only reason for someone to need a doctor.


    It didn¡¯t take long for me to catch a doctor to take a look at the girl. ¡°What happened to her?¡± is of course the doctor¡¯s first question. I could only sigh and explain the situation: ¡°I don¡¯t know. I found her on the road to Ent¡¯s MagMa. Or rather near the road.¡± I described better the place she was in. The funny thing is, there were no footprints or hoofprints or anything, even though the area was covered by moss. It¡¯s the type that takes days to rise back once you step on it. And I¡¯m sure even if this wasn¡¯t the firs day she was there, had she been there longer I or someone else would have seen her already.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s like she appeared from thin air¡±, the doctor mumbled while checking her. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s anything wrong with her¡±, he said a little unsure, ¡°I don¡¯t know why she won¡¯t wake up, she might simply be exhausted. There are no wounds or any symptoms of poisoning.¡± But who would collapse of exhaustion in such a place? If it was that then wouldn¡¯t she have been in the middle of the road. It appears the doctor took notice of my unbelieving expression. ¡°She can stay here until she wakes up, then we¡¯ll know more. If you give me your address, we¡¯ll send someone to inform you once she wakes¡±, he suggested. I knew there wasn¡¯t anything I could do by waiting at the hospital so I went home.


    I was really tired from carrying all the way before, so I took my time heading home. I¡¯m a magic student while also taking some martial classes, but since magic takes most of my time, I don¡¯t have any stamina. On the other hand, I could barely feel any mana from that girl. If she is also a student then she should be a martial art one.


    My home is closer to Rsinna than the school and it didn¡¯t take me long to reach it. There is a small sign saying ¡°Voks house¡± at the interjection where our home road starts. The house is really large for only two people, but it was cheap since it¡¯s outside Rsinna¡¯s walls. It¡¯s nice and quiet and since mom grows medical plants to sell it¡¯s easier to do here. As for me, I have to walk about fifteen minutes less when going to school. The house is surrounded by mom¡¯s fields and those fields are surrounded by woods.


    The house itself has two floors. We live on the first floor and the second is currently used as storage. Our house is quite modern, as we have a good kitchen and not only some hearth, the kitchen plus living room is a large open area. The first floor also has my room, mom¡¯s room which is also her herb storage and the toilet. The second floor has a hallway and four largeish rooms.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    My trip to Rsinna had taken quite a lot of time so there was dinner waiting for me. My mom, Mary, is a nice woman who is a great cook, just that she is a little too obsessed with her herbs to socialize. Which might be one reason she hasn¡¯t found a new husband after dad died seven years ago. Not that I mind, as long as she doesn¡¯t get lonely.


    Word came from the hospital early in the morning. For some reason they asked if mom could come as well. I had school like every day, so I had to take the trip over and ask if I could skip. I have almost perfect attendance thus far so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. But I had to inform my friends that I might not make it to evening practice.


    Once I got to the hospital the doctor from yesterday led me straight to that girl¡¯s room. ¡°It seems the situation is a little complicated¡±, he said, ¡°You¡¯ll find out when you meet her, but she has lost her memory.¡± I was of course surprised by this. ¡°But it¡¯s not like she had hit her head or anything right? You would have known¡±, I wondered. ¡°That¡¯s what makes this complicated. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any reason for her to lose her memory and we don¡¯t even know how she ended up where you found her. Moreover, I contacted the school and they said no one has gone missing. There are only a few girls who don¡¯t use the uniform so they would have known who she is¡±, he sighed, ¡°But well, you can try asking her all about it yourself.¡±


    She was standing by the window looking outside. I know I¡¯m tall, but she was seriously short. Over a head shorter than me. She had short black hair except for a ponytail that reached her hips. She wore a t-shirt, sleeveless jacket, shorts and sandals, all but the sandals would be fitting for a martial student. I knocked on the door frame.


    ¡°Hey, how are you doing?¡± I tried asking. It would have been a lot easier had we known something about her. ¡°Fine. You are¡­ uh¡­ who?¡± she seemed to have some trouble with her words. ¡°I found you collapsed yesterday. My name is Zure Voks¡±, I answered her, ¡°I was told you don¡¯t remember anything, is it for real?¡± She nodded. ¡°Here wake up. Before nothing. Name nothing. But I think wrong tong!¡± she seemed very proud of deducing that. ¡°That would mean you are a foreigner. It seems your mystery is deepening¡±, she looked very confused as I said that. I think the doctor did not tell her about how I found her at all.


    I told her the whole story. It didn¡¯t seem like she recognized any of the surrounding places. ¡°You really don¡¯t have any idea where you¡¯re from? Do you know what in your mother language?¡± I never knew how frustrating it could be when none of your questions are answered. She though very hard. ¡°I think¡­ Not from somewhere. Language know if hear. Maybe¡±, I was surprised how fast her speech is getting better. It¡¯s a wonder what she meant by not from somewhere, but I¡¯m sure she couldn¡¯t explain even if I asked.


    I tried asking various things, but the only result is that now she speaks better. Soon the doctor came back. ¡°Did you get anything out of her¡±, he asked. His tone was nice, but the words made me think she was like some criminal. ¡°Only that she seems to be a foreigner and most likely doesn¡¯t have a home.¡± The doctor looked disappointed. ¡°And here I thought chatting with someone her age might help¡±, he made way and mom came in, ¡°I talked with Mary here, and she agreed to adopt her until we know more.¡± I have inherited my niceness from her. I just have more chances to show it as mom is not of a very social sort.


    The doctor explained us three more about amnesia. Simply said doing and experiencing something she has done before might make her remember and at the very least doing nothing would be the worst. ¡°If I can guess from her clothes, she must be used to combat or learning it. So even if it was not our school, she should have gone to some. Do you think you could get her enrolled? I can give you a letter to take to the school¡±, the doctor asked me. I think him asking has a higher chance of success, but maybe I¡¯ll keep quiet. Doctors are usually not stupid so there must be a reason. ¡°I think it won¡¯t be a problem to get her a place in the transfer test, and your letter may let her skip the written tests¡±, I was positive she could pass the combat test. She was still unconscious only two hours ago and she was already energetic. And her jacket had hooks for most likely a sword¡¯s sheath.


    In the end she followed us home. She really seemed to be on edge while walking Rsinna¡¯s streets, but got visibly more relaxed once we were out. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen someone enjoy a forest as much except for that one annoying guy at school. But I suppose if she likes being in the middle of nowhere this much then some orphanage or other temporary housing would have been hell for her.


    It took very long until we got inside the house. She was quite interested in mom¡¯s fields and even climbed on the roof before she was satisfied. I have no idea how she did that. Our ladders have sunk into one of our storage rooms. And we really got a shock when she looked ready to jump down. People can¡¯t fly. They¡¯ve never been able to. Not with magic and not any other way. She looked confused for a while before coming down safely. ¡°Why can¡¯t I fly?¡± I heard her mumble, ¡°Should I be able to?¡±


    She wasn¡¯t as interested in anything inside so we quickly got her settled in one of our rooms upstairs. Most of it was cleaning and emptying the room as we don¡¯t really have any additional beds or other furniture for her.


    We used the rest of the evening to fill her in some important details of this world and what she needs to know if she were to go to school. Like how Enthrodtia is far away from the centre of the continent. How people from surrounding countries also appear at school. How have good relations with other races unlike most countries. How magic is an important part of everyday life. How she can learn most of it all at school. How we need to make sure she has the strength to pass the transfer exam. And how she can take her time to remember once at school, since it takes at least six years to graduate.


    We chatted well into the evening and she seemed to love mom¡¯s cooking. We decided to rest early so we would have the energy to practice tomorrow. Seems like I¡¯ll take another day off. She suddenly stopped while on her way to the stairs.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Isra.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°My name. It¡¯s Isra.¡±

 Main Chapter 2, Jorah, Oct 1

    That freaking elite has finally broken his attendance and skipped school for what, four days. And he only said he¡¯d explain once he comes back. Should have skipped some more, now that he started it. It would have given me more time to shine. Just because he is a second year and I¡¯m a first-year student everyone thinks he is so much better. Sure, he¡¯s a magic student and they tend to be more appreciated than martial students like me. But don¡¯t forget I¡¯m like twenty years older than him! Wait, did I say that aloud? Hope not.


    You see, I¡¯m actually a werebeast here on an espionage mission. Although my Werelynx clan is part of the Great Tribe of Werebeasts, the environment there is not too good for us. The Great Tribe is south of Enthrodtia and the landscape is mostly plains and. It. Is. So. Hot. I mean, we¡¯re lynx, basically. And we like cold weather and forests way better than some plains. That¡¯s why I was sent here, to look if our clan could maybe move here. But humans are known to hate other races, which means I cannot afford to get caught. I even picked a cool sounding surname for myself. Here I¡¯m known as ¡®Jorah La Croix¡¯ while in the Great Tribe I was ¡®Jorah of the Lynx clan¡¯. It¡¯s not really a name I can use while trying to blend in.


    And as I was just thinking, that freaking elite is still sixteen while I¡¯m 46 years. It¡¯s a normal age for a teen werebeast, and I barely pass for a seventeen-year-old human. But oh, how I hate that freaking elite. He¡¯s just sixteen, but already a talented mage with almost a record amount of mana, he¡¯s a talented martial artist that makes our instructors sad that he chose magic and on top of that they consider him a promising team leader! I know as a werebeast I can¡¯t really compete with magic, we have such a horrendously low mana pool that it¡¯s sad. And I know that werelynx are usually individualistic and it would be a stretch to call me anything other than that. BUT! I have my claws, or not them, but I have my knuckles! If we only compared notes for real once, they¡¯d all know who¡¯s best.


    Dang it, here he comes. Most of Ent¡¯s MagMa¡¯s students actually live in dorms so he¡¯s easy to spot. Coming in from the main gate while everyone else comes from the canteen. Wait a moment, is that seriously a girl he¡¯s walking with? Would the freaking elite skip for a girlfriend? I don¡¯t think so. I might believe if it was leader doing that, but not the freaking elite. Of course, I¡¯ll just have to go ask.


    ¡°Hey! Zure, what¡¯s that new pet you¡¯re bringing along?¡± no way I¡¯ll call him an elite when someone can hear. ¡°What pet, this is Isra. She¡¯s here for the enrolment exam¡±, the freaking elite answers. Now that I¡¯m closer I can clearly see how short she is. Seeing her next to the freaking elite is kind of hilarious and I¡¯m even taller. But her tattoo is seriously bothering me. I¡¯m certain I¡¯ve seen it somewhere before. It starts from her right cheek and continues to her right elbow. Unless it splits in the middle. Anyhow it looks really familiar. ¡°Who is this guy?¡± she asks while very rudely pointing at me. ¡°Eh¡­ That¡¯s Jorah, he¡¯s annoying so just ignore him.¡± What is with that attitude? He tries to lead her away, but I won¡¯t let him off that easy. If he says I¡¯m annoying then I¡¯ll annoy him till he can¡¯t take it anymore.


    What¡¯s weirding me out most is why does he have to bring her here. Couldn¡¯t she just come on her own? And don¡¯t sigh at me. ¡°I found her collapsed a few days ago. She has amnesia. Now she lives with us. We¡¯re helping her recover. The end¡±, so the freaking elite says. ¡°So, you actually believe someone without memories can pass that test¡±, I can¡¯t help but voice out my doubts. A transfer student¡¯s exam is way harder than the normal enrolment exam. Of course, it would be easy to me. ¡°The school has agreed to let her skip the written tests as long as she can reach the required level in a month. As for the combat and magic tests, well, she is seriously good in a fight¡±, hahaha that defeated face is priceless.


    The combat exam is held in the weapon hall in the fighters building. All new students without their special personal weapons can pick one from there. Sure, they¡¯re mostly inferior goods, but in return you get to keep them unless you yourself decide to return it. Now that the main exam has been held already and students have their weapons, there¡¯s plenty room for the exam. And the magic exam is very simple since most new students have no previous experience with combat magic. They don¡¯t even know if they¡¯re talented or not.


    The teacher in charge of the exam is actually my class¡¯ instructor called Vuro. You could say he¡¯s nice for a fighter teacher, but he¡¯s stricter than most. By the way martial artists are often called fighters as well, since most of us love fighting and brawling and all sorts of sparring. It¡¯s a little misleading sometimes when there are those freaking elites like Zure who can do anything. He really looks more like a fighter while he really is a mage. Anyhow, if this freaking elite thinks that his new pet is great then I suppose this will be interesting.


    This time there were four participants, Isra included. Three of them already look like mages. Or maybe I should say, ¡®if they¡¯re not mages, they¡¯ll fail¡¯. ¡°Attention!¡± Vuro calls to the examinees. ¡°The combat exam will take more time so we start with it. You may pick your weapon from any you see here and come challenge me once ready. No personal weapons during the test. Feel free to try a few practice swings to check if the weapon is fitting. And at last, you do not need to beat me, I¡¯ll gauge your strength and pass or fail you based on that.¡± The three others hurriedly went to check out the weapons.


    But Isra was frozen in place. ¡°Hello?¡± I swung my hand before her. ¡°Oh¡±, she came back to reality only for a moment before heading towards a black falchion. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the one no one has taken for like decades now?¡± I asked the freaking elite. I don¡¯t see anything interesting about it except its rare colour. Normal weapons are steel. This one is a very deep black. But the reason no one picks it is that it¡¯s too heavy. Most fighters have a hard time swinging it with two hands and its handle doesn¡¯t even fit two hand well. Clearly, it¡¯s made to be used with one hand. ¡°Yeah. I heard that even some famous mercenaries have tried it since its sharp and durable, but they tire too fast and can¡¯t use it with one hand¡±, seems the elite is as confused.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    It took me a long time to digest it. Isra really did pick it up. At first, I thought she would drop it because of the weight. But she held it up and laughed, ¡°Heihei, Zure this Mustis! {~Blackie}¡± She swung it around and spun from the weight. ¡°Do you mean you know that blade?¡± the elite asked. I couldn¡¯t really get a word out as I watched her. A black about a metre-long blade in the hands of a laughing girl is so creepy.


    ¡°It Mustis. Get from uh¡­ Dunno! But it is Mustis. Important Mustis¡±, she couldn¡¯t stop grinning even while thinking hard. I think her brain froze and not just from amnesia. At last I managed to open my mouth, ¡°Hey, you know, isn¡¯t that, well Mustis, kinda heavy?¡± How come she looks at me like I¡¯m stupid? We all think it¡¯s heavy. ¡°Heavy enough¡±, she says. ¡°Oh right!¡± she somehow took off the handle, ¡°Look here!¡± There was text on the hidden part of the blade. ¡®For Isra¡¯. ¡°But weren¡¯t this made centuries ago? We don¡¯t even know what the material is¡±, if the elite doesn¡¯t know then no one does. ¡°Dunno really. But it is familiar¡±, Isra says grinning again. She quickly put the handle back in place.


    By now the other three had done their challenges already. Two fails and one barely passed, to my surprise. ¡°Me ready now!¡± Isra called to Vuro. He looked at her in disbelief. ¡°Are you really taking that weapon?¡± His only answer was a nod. She had even taken the scabbard and attached it to the hooks on her jacket.


    Isra took the initiative. She dashed at Vuro while dragging that Mustis or whatever. Vuro used a longsword and he raised it ready to block. I don¡¯t think he saw Isra swinging the heavy falchion around. His sword ended up broken. Isra spun around once to make Mustis move faster and aimed at Vuro. He couldn¡¯t block it completely before his sword split and had to take a few steps back. Isra smiled. Seriously creepy. But if she likes fighting that much them, she might make a great sparring partner. Unlike the freaking elite Zure.


    Isra didn¡¯t stop her attack. She reversed her spin while closing the cap. Vuro was forced to retreat more. But this time Isra was left unbalanced and couldn¡¯t continue. Vuro used the chance to lock her heavy falchion to the ground while striking with his free hand. He hadn¡¯t realized that Isra had a free hand too. She caught his punch while falling backwards. She moved Mustis just enough so she could lean on it while she kicked Vuro and threw him over her head.


    ¡°Okay, you pass¡±, Vuro said a little defeated. He hadn¡¯t fallen on his back or face like Isra likely had intended, but her level is clearly enough to pass. ¡°You¡¯re so small, how can you have so much strength?¡± I ran to ask her. ¡°I am no supposed to be small¡±, she said before she thought it over. Sadly, she was called over with the other three by Vuro before I had the chance to ask what she meant. Though I¡¯m pretty sure she wouldn¡¯t know herself.


    The magic test is simple. There are two crystals used for measurement. One is about the size of your mana pool and the other about elemental affinity. Everyone has mana more or less, but to become a mage you need at least ten times the normal amount before you turn eighteen. That¡¯s the biggest reason why the school doesn¡¯t accept students older than seventeen. Affinity is about which element is easy to use. The stronger the affinity, the more talented you are. For example, my affinity is water, so even if I haven¡¯t learned magic seriously, I can still move around small amounts of water easily. There can be double and triple affinities as well, like the freaking elite. He has two strong affinities, fire and earth. Affinity can be one of the four basic elements, fire, water, earth or air, as well as some rare ones like lighting and poison. Affinity can be inherited and acquired, but it doesn¡¯t really change after you turn ten. Normal people usually don¡¯t have a single strong affinity which makes them unable to become mages.


    Of course, since this is a school for both martial and magic students it¡¯s a good chance for us to learn some simple magic too. On the other hand, only few of the magic students learn to fight. The freaking elite is a bit of a special case. At least this Isra should not be another freaking elite as I cannot feel any mana from her. As I¡¯m not an expert I can¡¯t tell too much, but even the weakest magic student has this aura of magic around them. The teachers could probably tell who has talent and who doesn¡¯t with one look. The crystals are more precise, however, and their results are taken better by failing examinees.


    Of the three only one passed. He was the same one that passed the combat test as well. Turns out he¡¯ll become a mage. Really, it would be so great if someone with both talents chose martial arts for once. Next it was Isra¡¯s turn. She held her hand over the mana measuring crystal. I was right, it barely lit up at all. Even I made it light more. But the affinity crystal was different. The light was so bright that it was hard to tell its colour. ¡°No way?!¡± I haven¡¯t seen Vuro ever be that surprised. ¡°Is it actually air?¡± Of the four elements, seeing a strong air affinity is very rare. Usually only those werebeasts that can fly might have it. For us ground dwellers earth is more usual, everyone needs water to live and fire is used in our daily lives. But air is about the winds.


    ¡°Just how have you lived to get such a strong air element?¡± Zure was as taken aback as the rest of us, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me jumping off roofs was an actual pastime for you?¡± What does that mean? ¡°Well, I dunno. But I don¡¯t have mana so who care, right?¡± Isra was wondering. Of course, it matters, an affinity that strong is rare no matter which element it was for. Though she does have a point that with her pathetic mana she won¡¯t be able to do much anything.


    It seems Vuro decided to let it be. ¡°I can¡¯t make heads or tails about you, but for now I¡¯ll go inform the principal. Two passed, two failed. One mage, one fighter¡±, he sighed and started heading out, ¡°Isra, it seems you already know Jorah so I¡¯ll put you in his class. Lufa, do you have class you would like to join?¡± Lufa was the other one who passed. ¡°Nope¡±, he answered and headed out as well.


    The freaking elite went to class saying, ¡°I¡¯ve missed too much already, show Isra around will ya?¡± What will ya, don¡¯t just push your pet to me! I just had the shock of a lifetime and I can¡¯t even ask anything since I know she can¡¯t answer. Amnesia is so annoying. And you know, I¡¯m not that familiar with the school grounds yet as it¡¯s been only a little over a month since the school year started.


    So, I simply said, this is the mage building, this is the fighter building, this is the canteen and so on. Well there are only those three main buildings. Main gate in the north, fighters west, mages south, canteen east. Warehouses everywhere as well as different practice grounds. I didn¡¯t really lead her to them in order, but rather wandered around randomly. The main buildings are easy to find anyway. Isra didn¡¯t seem to mind so we spent the whole evening exploring.


    I was about to suggest going to get lunch when Isra said she had to go home. ¡°Mary promised to teach me various things once I come back¡±, she said. I guess she really has a lot to learn. It would be better if she just got her memory back. I could ask her all about Mustis, her affinity and why her accent is so strong. But for now, I just sent her on her way and went to eat.


    Zure will likely invite her to our team anyway.


    No need to hurry with my questions.