(Arin's POV)
BOOM!
The sound of the explosion did not resemble a lightning strike; rather, it sounded more like a giant pressure cooker detonating right next to my ear.
I jolted awake from my light sleep in the corner of the stuffy workshop. My heart, already modified into a piston engine, pounded wildly in shock. Not because combat mode was active, but purely out of a biological reflex. Chalk dust and hot steam billowed to fill the entire room, making this underground workshop look as chaotic as a totally failed rock concert stage.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Amidst the dense fog of steam, Stain hopped around like a monkey with its tail on fire. He kicked his own workbench in frustration, then threw a wrench at the wall, producing a sharp ring.
CLANG!
"What is it?!" I shouted while rubbing my eyes, which stung from the dust. "Is there a monster attacking? Or did you just try to blow yourself up?"
Stain turned to face me. His face was pitch black from the soot left by the explosion. Only his bulging white eyes and gleaming gold teeth were visible behind a crazy grin.
"The iron!" roared Stain. His voice was hoarse, thick with intense obsession. He picked up a small steel ball from the floor using tongs. The object still emitted thin smoke. "It rejected me! This ball cracked when I pressed it into the shaft ring! Micro-cracks! It insults my precision!"
I exhaled a long sigh while leaning my back against the cold stone wall. The clocks around us indicated it was four in the morning.
"It is just a crack, Stain. Just make another one," I said flatly.
"Just a crack?! Just?!" Stain dashed toward me, pointing the hot steel ball right in front of my face. "This is an insult to geometry! A circle must be perfect! If there is even a zero point zero one micron deviation, the vibration will make your machine dance the hula before finally exploding into pieces!"
I batted the tongs away gently. "So, when will it be finished?"
Stain took a deep breath. Suddenly his angry face changed into a calm smile that actually looked terrifying. He licked his dry lips.
"Tomorrow morning," he whispered softly. "I will force it. I will beat its atoms until they obey. This Alphine steel is indeed stubborn, but I am far crazier than this stupid iron. Leave, Kid. You are disturbing my concentration with the overly regular sound of your breathing."
"Are you kicking me out?"
"Yes! Get out of here! Come back tomorrow when the sun rises. Bring lots of coffee. And do not forget to bring money."
I stood up while brushing off the dust clinging to my robe. Leaving a crazy Dwarf alone in a basement full of high-pressure steam might not be a good idea, but I really needed a bath. My body also demanded sleep on a mattress that did not smell of oil.
"Do not die, Old Man. I desperately need that machine," I advised before climbing the stairs out.
"Heh," snorted Stain, already busy cursing at an iron bar again. "Death is afraid of me."
The morning sun at Lion Academy usually brought a peaceful atmosphere. Birds chirping cheerfully, dew dripping from leaves, and diligent students seen taking morning runs around the field.
However, this morning the atmosphere was vastly different. It looked more like a market just robbed by a gang of bandits.
As I walked approaching the Boys' Dormitory area, I saw a crowd of students gathering in front of the east wing hallway, the territory of the Class B Dormitory. They were whispering with a tone of horror mixed with gossip enthusiasm.
"Did you see the door?" "Totally destroyed. The hinges even came off." "I heard there were blood splatters reaching the ceiling."
My bad feeling flared instantly. I forced my way into the middle of that crowd, ignoring the protests of several students jostled by my shoulder.
"Move aside," I said coldly.
They immediately moved out of the way upon recognizing my face. The reputation of being a Madman turned out to be very useful for parting a crowd of humans.
I arrived in front of the Class B Exclusive Lounge door.
Or more accurately, the former door.
The thick wooden door leaf lay pathetically on the hallway floor, split into two pieces. The door frame was severely cracked. And the sight inside that room...
"Wow," I mumbled unconsciously.
This was not merely a fight.
Expensive leather sofas were overturned and torn here and there. The billiard table legs were broken. Shattered crystal lamps scattered across the floor. There was a long bloodstain dragged across the carpet, and... wait a minute, was that a human tooth? Yes, it was. There were human teeth lying near a table leg.
Several security instructors were busy handling the Crime Scene. Their faces looked deathly pale.
"Who did this? A rampaging Ogre?" asked a student beside me with a trembling voice.
"Not an Ogre," I answered softly. My eyes narrowed seeing the damage pattern on a dented iron shield in the corner of the room. The dents were shaped like very distinct mace serrations. "This is the work of a human."
Suddenly, someone crashed into my back from behind.
"Arin!"
I turned around. Tom Garius stood there panting heavily. His face was as pale as paper, his hair was a mess, and he was still wearing sleep pajamas covered by an inside-out bathrobe.
"Tom? What is wrong with you? You look like you just saw a ghost."
"Not a ghost, Arin. Worse," whispered Tom. His voice trembled violently. He gripped my shoulder tightly. "Kars... he... he was the one who did it."
"Did what? Interior renovation?" I pointed to the destroyed room behind me.
"He cleaned up the trash," said Tom with a tone of horror. "Alone. Last night. I heard his voice, the sound of their screams. Gordon, Gareth, Maya, everyone. Kars went in there, locked the door, and... and..."
Tom swallowed hard with great difficulty, unable to continue his sentence.
"Where is he now?" I asked sharply.
"Hospital," answered Tom quickly. "Emergency Unit."
"Damn it!"
I immediately turned around and ran as fast as possible. Tom trailed behind me, his house slippers making smacking sounds hitting the corridor floor.
The Academy Hospital this morning was far busier than a fish market. Nurses ran around in panic carrying basins filled with bloody bandages.
As I stepped into the main corridor toward the VIP ward, I passed an intensive care room whose door was wide open.
I glanced briefly inside, and my steps halted automatically.
There, a row of five patient beds lined up.
On the first bed, Gordon Kyle lay weak. Or more accurately, a mummy figure resembling Gordon. His entire head was thickly bandaged, leaving only nostrils to breathe. One of his legs was suspended high in a cast.
On the second bed was Gareth. His right hand, which I had broken before, was still in a cast, and now his left hand was also in a cast. He lay staring at the ceiling with a blank gaze. His mouth kept muttering, "Mace... black mace..." repeatedly as if chanting an exorcism spell.
On the third bed, Maya. Her usually beautifully styled hair was now a mess. She did not appear to suffer severe physical injuries, but the girl was sobbing uncontrollably while hugging her knees.
The rest were Class B lackeys whose conditions were no less pathetic. Some had all their teeth missing; others had broken ribs.
"Good heavens..." I muttered in awe. "He didn't just take care of them, but minced them."
"Arin, over here!" called Tom from the end of the hallway.
I shifted my gaze from Kars's Artwork and walked quickly toward VIP Room Number 1. My regular room that apparently now had a new occupant.
Tom opened the door slowly, as if afraid of waking a sleeping dragon.
We entered.
And the scene inside the room was truly a perfect tragicomedy painting.
Kars Benzzi lay on that large bed.
He was alive. However, his definition of the word 'alive' was slightly questionable.
His face was swollen with a dominant purple and blue hue. His left eye was swollen shut by a bruise. His lips were split. His right hand was wrapped in thick bandages, and a neck brace was securely fitted around his neck. He looked exactly like a punching bag that had just lost badly in a world championship.
Yet, he was smiling. A silly, crooked smile full of satisfaction.
And surrounding his bed, the 'Goddesses' of the Hexagon Alliance had gathered completely.
Elena Rhyms sat in a chair with her legs crossed, massaging her temples with an incredibly annoyed face. Rose Carlos sat on the windowsill peeling an apple again, an amused grin plastered on her face. Celia Alphine stood leaning against the wall with arms crossed, staring at Kars with a complicated expression. And Erika, the girl was staring at Kars with eyes sparkling in awe, as if she had just seen a superhero.
"You are still alive?" I greeted while walking closer.
Kars turned his head with great difficulty due to the obstruction of the neck brace.
"Arin..." he said. His voice sounded nasal because his nose was probably broken again. "Did you see... the news?"
"What news? That you just renovated the dormitory using your own face?" I asked sarcastically.
"He is crazy," interrupted Elena sharply. She pointed at Kars with her folding fan. "Do you know how much medical expenses the Academy had to shell out this morning? My grandmother almost had a heart attack seeing the bill! Three bottles of High-Tier Elixir! Three bottles! You just drank your own tuition money, Fool!"
"But I won, Elena," Kars chuckled softly, then grimaced in pain. "Ouch... my ribs."
"Won what?!" scolded Elena fiercely. "You were found fainted on top of a pile of Class B students' bodies groaning in pain! The guards said you were laughing to yourself while hugging your mace like a psychopath!"
"That is called dominance," chimed in Rose from the window, biting a piece of her apple. "I have to admit, Spare. I am impressed. You have a hidden psychopathic side. Breaking fifteen knee bones in one night? That is a new record. Even Arin has never done that."
"Do not compare me to him," I protested. "I break bones for the sake of efficiency. He did it out of a weird hobby."
Celia, who had been silent all this time, finally stepped forward. The sound of her iron boots striking the floor echoed firmly.
She stood right beside Kars's bed, staring at the shattered young man.
"I told you to handle the problem, Benzzi," said Celia coldly. "Not massacre an entire cohort. Did you think this was a civil war?"
Kars stared back at Celia. Even though his face was swollen, his eyes shone brightly.
"You said to use my fangs," whispered Kars. "I used them. No one will underestimate us anymore, Celia. The steel is secure. That dormitory is mine now."
Celia fell silent. She looked at the wounds on Kars's body. She knew those wounds were acquired because Kars refused to use anyone else's help, in accordance with the condition Celia herself had set.
Slowly, the harsh expression on Celia's face softened. She sighed deeply.
"You fool," cursed Celia softly, though her tone was not sharp. She took a glass of water from the table, inserted a straw, and offered it to Kars's mouth. "Drink. Your lips are as dry as salted fish."
Kars drank the water greedily. His eyes did not leave Celia's face for a single second.
"Aww..." quipped Erika innocently.
"Quiet, Erika," we all snapped simultaneously.
I walked to the other side of the bed, looking at Kars seriously. There was one thing that had been bothering me all along. The mathematics of this battle did not make sense.
"Kars," I called. "Be honest with me."
"What?"
"How many people did you fight last night?"
"Gordon, Gareth, Maya, Gaston, and maybe fifteen other lackeys?" answered Kars while trying to remember. "A total of about twenty people."
"Twenty people," I repeated to confirm. "And you were alone. You are only a mid-level Senior Aura user. Your stamina, mathematically speaking, should have run out after the tenth person. Moreover, you had to fight Gordon who has a monster physique."
I stared deep into Kars's eyes.
"How did you do it? How could you remain standing after being punched, kicked, and struck by magic from twenty people at once? Your body should have given up long before that."
That question brought silence to the room.
Elena stopped complaining. Rose stopped chewing her apple. Celia stared at Kars with immense curiosity.
True. This was illogical. Kars was not me who had monster serum. He was not Rose who possessed genius talent. He was just Kars. The kid who usually ran to hide behind his brother's back.
Kars fell silent for a moment. He stared at the white ceiling of the VIP room with a distant gaze.
"I do not know, Arin," he answered softly. "All I remember is when they hit me, the pain was indeed there. It hurt terribly. But..."
Kars clenched his bandaged fist.
"...it felt like a fire was lit inside here. Every time I got hit, the fire only grew bigger. It felt intoxicating. I did not want to stop. I felt I could destroy a wall with my own head. I forgot how to fall."
He turned to me; that crazy grin appeared again on his swollen face.
"It felt so good, Arin. Hitting them back. Seeing the fear in Gordon's eyes when I didn't fall. I think I enjoyed it."
I got goosebumps. Not because of the cold, but because of that honest confession.
Kars had unlocked something dangerous within himself. A Berserker? Or the pure madness of the Benzzi family that had been suppressed all this time?
BANG!
The room door slammed open again loudly.
This time, it was not a friend who came. Rather, it was the grim reaper carrying a medical clipboard.
Doctor Edna marched in with wide strides. Her white coat fluttered dramatically behind her back. Her face, oh God, her face was far more terrifying than when she collected debts from me. Her eyes were red from a lack of sleep, and a dense black aura radiated from her body.
She glared at all of us with a murderous stare. Rose immediately jumped down from the window. Elena sat up straight politely. I reflexively took a step back.
"Get out. All of you," hissed Edna dangerously. "Except for this Stupid Patient."
"W-wait, Doc," Kars said nervously. "I already feel better."
"Better?!"
Edna slammed her medical clipboard onto the foot of Kars's bed.
Smack!
"Ouch!" Kars shrieked in shock.
Edna took a magic x-ray result and lifted it high into the air.
"Look at this, Young Master!" shouted Edna furiously. "Look at your muscle fibers! They are all torn! Microscopic tears in one hundred percent of your body tissues! Do you know what this means?!"
Kars shook his head fearfully.
Edna turned to me, pointing at me with her sharp pen.
"Congratulations, Arin. You successfully transmitted your crazy disease. This plague has started to spread."
"I did not do anything!" I defended myself quickly.
Edna looked back at Kars, her breathing rapid suppressing emotion.
"You are experiencing a total Adrenal Burnout. And worse, your brain unconsciously turned off its pain limiters. You beat people up while smiling even though three of your ribs were cracked, Kars! You fought beyond the normal human biological limits!"
Edna glared at each of us alternately.
"Do you think this is an achievement? This is nervous system damage!"
"Wait a minute, Doctor," Elena's voice cut through Edna's rant.
Elena stood up from her chair. Her face suddenly turned extremely serious. She walked closer to Kars's bed, staring intently into Kars's eyes which were still slightly red.
"He didn't merely turn off the limiters, Doctor," said Elena softly. "Kars, when you fought last night, did your vision turn red? And did you feel that the pain transformed into energy?"
Kars nodded slowly. "Yes. The more it hurt, the stronger my punches became."
Elena sighed a long breath, then turned toward Rose.
"Rose, do you see it?"
Rose, standing near the window, nodded slowly, her expression no longer playful. "Yes. It is very clear. The Old Blood."
"The Old Blood?" I asked confusedly. "What do you mean?"
Elena turned to look at me and Edna. Her posture changed, radiating the authoritative aura of a high noble that she had hidden all this time.
"In the Lion Kingdom, there are four families referred to as True Nobles. Families whose bloodlines have existed for a thousand years, long before this kingdom was established," explained Elena. "Rhyms, Hall, Benzzi, and Delphine."
Elena pointed at Kars.
"We do not merely inherit wealth and names. We inherit a different genetics. Laymen call it talent. However, history calls it the 'Bloodline Syndrome'."
Elena looked at Kars with a sympathetic gaze.
"What Kars experienced is not merely nerve damage, Doctor. It is the awakening of the Benzzi Bloodline Power, Pain Conversion. The Benzzi ancestors were Berserkers. Their bodies evolved to convert pain signals into pure adrenaline and mana."
"That explains why Karl is so crazy and aggressive," added Rose cynically. "Their family, the more they get hurt, the more they lose their sanity and become monsters. It is not a disease; it is their genetic feature."
I was stunned. Genetic evolution?
"So..." I looked at Kars, who seemed confused by the explanation about himself. "Kars didn't go crazy because he was beaten? He is crazy because of his ancestors?"
"Roughly speaking, yes," answered Elena.
I stared at Elena with narrowed eyes. "Wait. If the Benzzis have that syndrome, what about you? You are a Rhyms. One of the Four True Nobles."
Elena fell silent. Her hand subconsciously touched her chest, where her heart had once frozen.
"You are right, Arin," whispered Elena. "My hypothermia, that is also part of the price to pay."
Elena raised her hand, letting small snow crystals form in the warm air of the room.
"Ancient historical records state that the Rhyms ancestors had a connection with the Forces of Nature. We were supposed to be able to control the weather. But for some reason, over the last five hundred years, that genetics mutated."
Elena clenched her hand, crushing the snow into cold vapor.
"The Rhyms descendants are now born with excessive Ice Domination. Our bodies attempt to become the ice itself. As a result, we freeze from the inside. Chronic Mana Hypothermia."
"Then what about Hall and Delphine?" I asked. My curiosity as a researcher exploded instantly.
"The Hall Family, the Royal Family, they have the King's Eye. The ability to predict a few seconds ahead like reading the future," explained Rose. "While the Delphines... well, no one knows for sure. But rumors say they have Poison Blood or immunity to all types of toxins."
The room fell silent.
I stared at them one by one. Kars with his madness, Elena with her freezing.
It turned out, I was not the only 'defective' person here.
These exalted nobles, they were all defective products of evolution. They were all sick. They all struggled against their own bodies, just like I struggled against my rigid mana channels.
"Hah..." Edna sighed roughly, breaking that serious moment. She massaged her forehead harder than before.
"Great. Wonderful," sneered Edna sarcastically. "So now I am not only treating reckless kids, but also a bunch of genetic mutants with hereditary issues?"
Edna glared at Kars with a sharp look.
"I do not care if it is an ancestral power or a war god's blessing, Young Master Benzzi. Medically, your body is destroyed! If you use that Berserker mode again before your muscles recover, you will be permanently paralyzed! Understood?!"
Kars swallowed hard, terrified by Edna's explosive anger. "U-understood, Doc."
Edna grabbed a pen, then crossed out something on the nameplate at the foot of Kars's bed with a rough motion.
"Welcome to the club, Young Master Benzzi," said Edna with an incredibly cold sarcastic smile.
"Starting today, you are officially the second Regular VVIP Patient in this hospital after the Crazy Arin. I have carved your name onto my blacklist."
Edna looked at Kars, then looked at me, and finally turned her gaze to Elena.
"And the bill..." Edna smiled sweetly. A smile promising absolute bankruptcy. "...the bill for repairing this 'Damaged Genetics' will be very, very expensive. I will include the cost of mental therapy in it as well."
Kars swallowed hard. His face paled, but then, he chuckled.
"Expensive, huh?" Kars smirked, even though his lip bled again.
He stared at the ceiling with a satisfied gaze.
"That is fine. Just send the bill to Karl. Tell him it is a renovation fee."
We all fell silent for a moment, then laughter broke out in the room. Laughter that was tired, crazy, and tragic. Amidst that laughter, I looked at Kars, then looked at Elena.
We were all broken. We were all defective in our own ways. And somehow, that fact made me feel I was no longer alone in this world.
"Welcome to hell, Partner," I murmured softly.