Bennett's last thought as he fell unconscious was simple:

  "I'm way too weak..."

  Just as the beast's jaws were about to snap shut around him it jumped back.

  A guard had finally arrived, his eyes narrowing at the scene.

  "Shit... that should be the kid. He's probably dead but why the hell is there a Rank 4 beast here? Anything above Rank 3 is supposed to be killed on sight."

  Despite the confusion, he didn't hesitate. Mana surged around his body as he coated himself in ice, turning his entire form into an icy missile. The beast tried to flee, but the gap in strength was far too wide. The guard rammed into it mid-leap, instantly freezing its body and core. A single touch and the entire beast shattered like brittle glass.

  "Let's hope the kid's still alive..."

  He crouched down, checking Bennett's pulse. Faint but there.

  With careful hands, he lifted Bennett and disappeared from the scene at a speed bennett could never hope to match at his current strength, a clear sign of the difference in their ranks for now.

  Three weeks later...

  "Ugh... w-where am I?"

  Bennett slowly opened his eyes, groggy and aching all over.

  "Wait... this is the nurse's office... I'm alive?"

  A weak laugh escaped him, breathless.

  "Heh... haha... I'm actually alive."

  He sank back against the bed, the weight of survival sinking in.

  "I really am too weak. Whoever saved me... I need to thank them."

  A few minutes passed before the door opened and a nurse strolled in, clipboard in hand. She paused as she saw him awake.

  "Well, well, well. Welcome back from the brink of death, kid. You were damn lucky to be found in time."

  "Thank you, nurse... But if I'd remembered sooner that our student ID doubles as a life signal, I could've gotten help earlier. Maybe been in a better state..."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Bennett clenched his fist. Despite all his mental training, the sheer pressure of that Rank 4 beast had overwhelmed him. He'd forgotten one of the academy's simplest safeguards something that could've cost him his life.

  The nurse raised an eyebrow, then shook her head.

  "Honestly? I'm surprised you remembered that at all. Most students forget about the life signal system completely. Usually, we only recover those IDs after the student's already dead."

  "I took a gamble," Bennett muttered. "If I died, I died. I've got nothing else to say."

  A jolt of pain made him wince the earlier pill's effects were wearing off.

  The nurse smiled as she handed him a small white capsule.

  "Here, take this. It'll dull the pain... unless you'd rather enjoy the full experience of having both your arms broken and your ribs poking your lungs. Frankly, I'm surprised you were even able to move."

  She tapped her clipboard.

  "You're looking at a two-month recovery, minimum. Unless..." She paused dramatically. "You've got the credits for a Life-Returning Pill. Then it's just a few hours of recovery instead."

  "I have the credit," Bennett said, narrowing his eyes. "What's the catch?"

  "Well," she said, grinning with a sadistic gleam, "academy policy requires consent. Because, well... the process feels like absolute torture for six straight hours. Magical regeneration isn't exactly gentle."

  Bennett groaned. "I'll take it. I'd rather wish I was dead for a few hours than lose two months of training."

  The nurse beamed. "Excellent! Finally another victim-er, patient! Coming right up~"

  Bennett broke into a cold sweat.

  "This... might've been a very, very bad decision..."

  The nurse soon left to prepare a recovery pill for Bennett.

  Meanwhile, Bennett looked around and spotted a piece of paper and a pen. He picked them up and began scribbling down his plans everything he needed to work on and improve.

  Just as he was deep in thought, the nurse returned, ushering him back into bed before handing him the pill, her expression far too excited for comfort.

  Bennett eyed the pill warily, then downed it with a glass of water.

  Blegh. Tastes horrible.

  A few seconds later, pain exploded through his body. It felt like his skin was disintegrating melting and peeling all at once. He screamed, thrashing as agony consumed him, while the nurse simply giggled, clearly amused by his suffering.

  His screams eventually grew hoarse, until no sound escaped his throat. The pain didn't lessen it only silenced him.

  A few hours passed before the pain finally started to fade. Bennett lay there panting, his voice hoarse.

  The nurse handed him a glass of water. He drank it, then rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms.

  “Wow my arms and ribs feel good as new!”

  The nurse grinned. “Of course they do. That pill cost over 700 credits.”

  “WHAT?!” Bennett shouted, clutching his head. “That means I’ve got less than forty credits left ugh…”

  The nurse just shrugged. “Told you it was expensive. Anyway, once you’ve changed, get out of my room. You’re healed.”

  She left before he could say another word.

  Bennett sighed. “Guess I don’t have a choice.”

  He changed into his clothes, signed the release papers, and made his way back to his apartment.

  Checking over his quarterstaves, he groaned. “Damn… cracked. I’ll have to get them repaired, but I’ve got no credits left.”

  He pulled up his balance and froze. 743 credits.

  “…what the hell?”

  A message blinked on his device:

  > Nurse here. I was joking the pill was on the house. I would’ve made you take it regardless, tee-hee. You just made it easier.

  Bennett slumped back. “Ugh… at least I can get my weapons fixed. Thank god.”

  The next day, Bennett made his way to the blacksmith to get his staves repaired.

  “Kid, how’d you manage to bang these up this badly in less than a month?” the blacksmith asked, inspecting the cracks.

  Bennett sighed. “Three students lured a pack of rhyhounds… and even a siegehound. One of them died, and the other two threw life pulse enhancer pills at me to run away.”

  The blacksmith raised an eyebrow. “Enhancers? Hah, sounds like they were using illegal goods. Those pills aren’t allowed for anyone below the Apprentice level.”

  “I know,” Bennett groaned. “That’s what pisses me off the most.”

  The blacksmith chuckled. “Well, kid, I’ll fix up your staves and call it on the house. Consider it a reward for surviving your first real life-or-death fight.”

  Bennett blinked. “Eh, technically my second… but yeah, that one nearly killed me. I don’t even know who saved me in the end.”

  “It’s fine, kid,” the blacksmith said with a grin. “Now go on, let me get to work. Come back tomorrow.”

  Bennett nodded and left. When he got back to his dorm, he noticed his task had already been marked as completed and the reward credited to his account.

  “Well, that’s nice,” he muttered. “Guess I’ll train for now.”

  After putting on his weighted clothes, Bennett headed outside and began practicing unarmed combat alone.

  Chapter 14 End