Curse of the Bad Blood Dye

Mrs. Aroelia had already finished injecting the last dose of Ethan's daily medication, which she used to give him after the morning classes, as scheduled. 

She returned the medication containers to their place in the drawer opposite her desk, where she sat as the morning light gradually faded to be replaced by the afternoon heat. 

As usual every day, she asked him when he came in for his dose: "Have you had any hallucinations recently? Were they severe or mild?" She used to keep track of the patients who came to her for treatment, especially Ethan, who was on the verge of losing his ability to use his warped magic completely. 

Ethan answered in the negative, reminding her that his last hallucination was two days ago, his first since then. He then assured her that he saw nothing but sweat as he got up from the uncomfortable seat for his back.

Mrs. Aurelia continued with a weary sigh: "Those hallucinations of yours... The pale-skinned woman with the strange white hair and crimson dress. She read aloud from the small notebook on her desk in which she jotted down the symptoms of her patients at the academy. At the door, Ethan assured her: "Yes, everything I saw was very real. I floated in the light of an old crimson moon, and she came close to me until her forehead touched mine... Then she disappeared in the blink of an eye." 

Ethan saw her reconfirm what she had written in her notebook, thanked her for her useful information and left. 

A small smile crossed his face as he turned the doorknob, which automatically slid open to reveal a large man standing one step outside. Ethan wondered internally: Is he a patient or a professor? But his worn and dirty clothes belied his expectations. He had seen this type of visitor a lot since yesterday; those who come to Azuria for dangerous missions, having been summoned by the Adventurer's Guild based on an agreement between the Guild in Iron Plateau City and Azuria Academy. 

The man crossed the room with his long body, holding in his right hand a **rodent** with white and dark purple fur, with broken horns the size of a fat sheep calf. He then sat down in the chair where Ethan had previously sat, and began negotiating in a hoarse voice with Dr. Aurelia about raising his wage from five copper coins to two silver coins, to compensate for his losses while hunting these rodents from the cinnamon stalks in the neighboring village.

Ethan closed the door behind him because he felt he didn't need to eavesdrop on a conversation that didn't concern him. However, his lack of concentration caused him to bump and fall along with the maid who was servicing this part of the academy's hallway-especially since the space is large and complex, especially at Dr. Arwelia's desk. Ethan helped the maid up from the floor, and as he held her prosthetic right hand - which was more like a natural hand made of thin copper metal - he could feel the coolness of the metal under his fingers. The maid thanked him respectfully, and he returned the greeting, knowing her well from his frequent visits here. Ethan explained to the maid named Chill that he was distracted by the man who had just entered the room, guessing that he was from the Adventurer's Guild.

Chell confirmed the information: "He is indeed an adventurer, arriving at the academy two nights ago by hot air balloon - like most adventurers who come here at this time of the season." Ethan grinned, then asked her about the ranks of the incoming adventurers: "Are their stars copper or silver?" He chose to assume that silver is the highest, as those with silver stars (or higher) are those who have reached the elite level and are allowed to take on dangerous quests and multiple invasions.

Chelle explained that most of them are brass, and a few are silver. But she added an exceptional example: "The adventurer who just walked into Aurelia's office has gold stars, and his name is Arthur - an old fellow of the Academy, who has seen more than one winter... At least!" Chelle laughed, hinting that she was new here, only two years into the service.

Ethan couldn't believe it, and was surprised by the weight of the gold rank. But he couldn't deny the awe that crept over him when he saw Arthur at the door, his eyes meeting the man's yellow eyes under his worn hat.

Ethan apologized again to Chell for the unintentional collision, especially after being distracted by the faint sounds of the announcer's voice over the heavy speakers. He bid her a quick farewell and left the hallway, which began to fill up with students as the morning classes began to wind down.

For elementary school students, the public square has always been the place to go after a long day of classes.

Ethan was sitting at an old wooden table, finishing his breakfast, when Nila approached him with quick steps amidst the sounds of students' voices and sat across from him. She angrily began to tell him about her disgust with one of old professor Camilla's classes, in which she was lecturing on how to grow a rare flower from a small seed. It wasn't easy, but Nyla proudly assured him that she had managed to germinate her plant before everyone else, all the while witnessing the experiment inside Camilla's old classroom, with walls that smelled of old, damp leaves.

Ethan inquired about her raging anger and she told him that it wasn't because of the class, it was just that girl who had been taunting her after her success, calling Nyla a slang girl, she couldn't bear to look at him and her friends and that made Nyla really angry. 

Ethan softened his tone and tempered his anger when he asked her if she knew who that girl was. She didn't answer right away, but her friend - Nila's friend who had been sitting with them earlier - repeated Thalia's name

Ethan stared at the boy with remarkable concentration, until he noticed his family crest emblazoned on the chest of his shirt: Two adjoining rivers, the emblem that he knows very well belongs to a family in the House of Fusonite fief of the Rooster and Sun.

Ethan returned to the topic; he was familiar with Thalia's behavior from childhood. She didn't have the moral high ground, especially with her friction with Vermouth and Stromhide before the death of Ethan's poor mother. These frictions diminished with him as well, perhaps due to Sylviana's death, prompting Lady Stromhide not to return.

Unlike the friendly relationship between the two mothers, Ethan and Thalia's relationship was quite strained.

In the brightly lit courtyard that had been reserved for elementary school students, students' voices were muted; it was not as large as the large courtyard behind the lantern tower.

Nyla now seemed to have shaken off her earlier discomfort and decided to step forward.

"Can I really summon the nectar of the red bougainvillea from somewhere nearby?" she asked as she swayed on the table, Ethan's empty plate of food rattling beneath her. She had gone to the lab before she came, only to find that Master Vasmo had told her it was out of stock and would not be available until the next shipment arrived.

Nila loudly explained to Ethan and her colleague Ovend that she desperately needed that flower to impress Mr. Camila in the next class, especially since the project was assigned by Mr. Camila, and it had to be ready

"But we're out of garnet flowers, and the next shipment won't arrive for a week at the latest, so you have no choice but to wait," Ethan replied.

The thought of waiting a week was upsetting to Nyla; what good would it do if the appointment was only three nights away? She needed a quick solution, and started looking for an idea to get out of this predicament.

Ovend, a honey-brown-haired man who some might think was close to Nela because of their similar hair color, suggested that they hire a low-ranking adventurer to fetch the flower from a nearby cave, especially since this was a time when adventurers were flocking to Azoria.

But Nila knew that hiring an adventurer required a certain amount of money, and she had barely half of it. From what she had heard, adventurers were paid at least one silver coin, which was a lot of money for her.

Nyla didn't ask for pity, but Ethan insisted on bearing the cost of hiring an adventurer, and Ovend didn't hesitate to agree with him.

She could have said no, but she didn't want to hurt their feelings when they were so insistent. Thus, they agreed to hire a low-ranking adventurer to accompany them on the mission. Nila set a date for another day when they would be ready.

The old courtyard bell rang with a rattling sound, announcing the passage of time, and Ethan said firmly: "It's the nearest adventurer from the reception desk at the south tower, next to the steam balloon station." He bid them farewell and left as his lesson with Mr. Leona was about to begin.

After finishing breakfast with Nila and Ovend, he headed off to his swordplay lesson with Leona.

He finished all his homework, and he didn't have to lie, even after he had showered and washed off the sweat of training in the fencing arena, fatigue still pulsed in his weary eyes.

Today's training was special, and Ethan felt appreciated by his peers in the same field. Perhaps his fame had increased since his fight against Freneth and his victory over him, or perhaps because of Freneth's antics in recent practices, where he seemed to be trying to get close to him. Ethan saw that their relationship was still in its infancy and that they had a long way to go.

Ethan's breath hitched a little as he reached the seventh floor, where the mechanical elevator was undergoing maintenance that would not end anytime soon.

When he reached the South Tower Hall after a long ascent, he found the seats almost empty, similar to those in a house of worship, except for a few people sitting.

He strode up to the small reception counter, where there was no waiting line, and asked the old matron if there were any adventurers available for hire. He passed her a small piece of paper stamped with the approval he had previously received from Master Siegfried as permission to leave the academy with an adventurer.

She replied with faint regret that all the adventurers were busy, and that there were fewer of them this year, as the year had seen a decline in the number of young adventurers. I told him that if he could wait a day or two, he might find someone to accompany him.

That was disappointing enough for Ethan... but before he could give up completely, the old woman continued, "Not everyone is really busy." It was then that his eyes fell on a lazy adventurer sprawled out on one of the stacked benches. No stranger to Ethan, he moved closer... and closer. 

"Is it Arthur? From that time back in Aurelia's office?" Ethan asked, looking at the familiar hat and beard that helped him recognize him.

He didn't try to wake him up, but he staggered on his own, drool running down the side of his right cheek. Ignoring his messy appearance, he took in the young man standing in front of him in his short, navy blue academy robes.

Seriously, Ethan gestured to Arthur, wondering if he could hire him for an official mission, according to the Azurian document between adventurers within the academy.

Arthur didn't respond quickly, but stared at Ethan's face, as if trying to remember his features from somewhere in the past. Then he stood up slowly, repeating in a lazy, heavy voice: "Vermouth? You're Vermouth's young son?"

Ethan wasn't surprised by the question; every noble family's coat of arms is imprinted on their children's chests, so it was only natural.

Arthur raised his hand to reveal a large scar running from the bottom of his chin to his neck, and said in a hushed voice: "One of the Vermouth boys did it."

"Boys?" Ethan wondered inwardly, "Who could it be?" His family members are few, until Arthur quickly answered: "Aldric. That was his name when I saw him in the cities of the Iron Plateau, accompanied by his master, the head of the Vermouths."

Ethan deduced that Arthur was talking about his father and bodyguard, the young Aldric, who had taught him and his brother Henry the art of swordsmanship.

But Arthur was not here to talk about the past: "What do you want?"

Ethan told him he needed an adventurer to accompany him, and asked if he was free. Arthur smiled lazily, answering: "I can't say no, it's my role here at the Academy... But payment is required."

Ethan pulled out two silver coins from his allowance and held them out to him, but Arthur didn't take the money right away, instead watching it with his scrutinizing yellow eyes before commenting: "That's a lot of money if I'm a copper or silver rank."

He then showed his emblem, which shone with three large gold stars, before adding in a confident tone: "If you want to hire me, you'll have to pay more."

Ethan pulled out one silver coin, then another, then another... He just wanted to say yes. Vanilla needed that flower.

Even if he had to compromise his monthly allowance, which amounted to seven gold coins, he took out two and handed them to Arthur.

"That's the most I can pay." Ethan replied firmly.

Arthur interrupted him with a lazy smile as he finally agreed, standing up to reveal his tall stature: "If you could get two more gold coins, that would be better, but... It's okay, I'll take it, I'm just a tired, passive duty adventurer."

He stretched a bit, then chuckled: "When and where? Tell me and I'll be there."

Feeling relieved, Ethan finally told him the agreed upon time and place. He was happy that he might be able to do a favor for one of his earliest friends.