Chương 8: I'll Make An Enemy of You Yet

Sid lay splayed across the couch in Embrace's common room. Every muscle twitched in a burning agony. Not only did he handle all of Ramil's dishes in the morning, but he continued to take on his peer's chores for the rest of the day. It made Ramil and Dalisay happy, and it pissed Davine off as an added bonus. Now that Board Vision could target an enemy, Sid needed to make one. Davine wasn't a valid target yet, despite his obvious disdain for the newest member of his flock.

Seeing Davine's system interface was useful enough to justify directly antagonizing him. He just had to do it in a way that didn't antagonize everyone else at Embrace. Footsteps approached the empty room and Sid forced his body up. He winced at the surge of pain in his limbs.

"Are you alright?" He looked up to find Allani standing under the sunroof, moonlight cascading over her face.

"Allani! I was starting to think I'd never get to talk to you again. Davine has us working every hour."

"Honestly, I hated watching the five of you do everything all day. I was told it's tradition, but I just feel like a freeloader." Sid lowered himself back on the couch.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure they'll have you scouting or scavenging out in the wilderness at some point. That's far more intense than what we do." Allani sighed and took a seat on the chair next to Sid. He turned his head towards her and thought about their level-up in the jungle. She probably got a new skill too, and he wanted to see what it was. [Board Vision] invoked on existing target, Allani Abbascia, [The Clown] level 2.

The target's [Mobility] increased to 20 and her [Brawn] increased to 13 since you last checked on her. She has obtained one new skill. [Comedic Timing] lvl 1: Once a day, you may consume resonance to target a pawn using a skill. The skill fails to activate at that moment, and will instead activate at an inconvenient time for the target. Useful enough. It could be activating in or out of combat and on allies or enemies alike. The only issue was the lack of control over the delayed activation.

She'd have to wait indefinitely for an actual benefit aside from avoiding the target skill in the first place.

"You seem to be adjusting well, at least. The other guys are already starting to like you."

"Oh, you know me. I can't resist helping sad, broken people." Allani snorted and reached for the pillow behind her, preparing a lethal throw. Sid put his hands in front of his face and blocked the pillow assault. He grabbed it and pulled it against his chest. For a brief moment, he felt like a kid again, but that couldn't last.

"Seriously though, those boys aren't doing alright. They work all day. They're also all around my age. Davine seems to be the only guy over thirty." Allani crossed her legs on the chair.

"Isn't that normal? There's usually an older mentor for new graduates."

"Davine didn't come to Embrace with those four. He was here at least a decade before them. Anyone he got stranded with probably died due to the five-person limit years ago." He looked up from the pillow he was holding.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was how he became the head mystic in the first place. Process of elimination."

"You say that like it's a bad thing. If he was the lone survivor of his group, naturally, he'd have to take control."

"Yeah…but after cycling through his entire group and potentially many more after that, you'd think fate would've come for him at some point." Allani raised her eyebrows. Sid sounded like a non-believer with all of his skepticism. He knew her father wasn't a Rosaecean, so his point wasn't lost on her, but she was probably wondering why he didn't think there was some divine intervention protecting Davine.

"I knew you were still in there somewhere." She smiled.

"I was worried that mystic school beat the fight out of you."

"Oh, believe me, there's nothing more holy than looking for the truth. I think the Rose would approve of a little investigation into Davine."

"Are you sure we should be going that far?" she asked.

"It's only been a day since we got here."

"Sure, but we only have four days until one of us is supposed to die. If he's exploiting the system, we need to know now." Allani closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in and out. This wasn't something Sid was planning to do alone. He wanted her to be the one sneaking around, given how agile she was. It was a tough ask, and from the look on her face, she knew what he was about to ask.

"Will you-""Fine," she interrupted, "but you have to promise me that you'll keep your involvement a secret if I get caught." His breath caught in his throat. What a romantic sentiment; he could even feel his heart rate speeding up. It was intoxicating. He hadn't felt so much excitement or desire for another person in a decade. He had forgotten how good it could feel to like someone.

"You're gonna take the fall for me?" He clasped his hands behind his back with a coy smile.

"Hey, if I get kicked out for sneaking around, I'll be okay. You, on the other hand…I would worry too much." Nope. No. That was not happening. Embrace would have to pry Allani from his cold, dead hands. Wherever she went, he would follow, but she didn't need to know that now.

"Ok. If you do get caught, which I know you won't, I'll keep quiet." One juvenile pinky swear sealed the deal, and the duo retreated into the dark corridor that led to the mystics' rooms. They passed the large room Sid shared with the others and found themselves in a hall of unused dormitories for holy men. Dust and cobwebs covered the open archways of each wasted room. A beam of light crept through the crack beneath the one door in the hallway that slid shut.

It was marked with a placard that read "HEAD MYSTIC QUARTERS." The two of them stood a few feet away from it just in case Davine came out while they were lurking about. Sid put his hand up to Allani's ear and leaned in.

"Head down the hall until you're out of sight. I'll get him out of the room long enough for you to search it and find a good hiding place."

"Where the hell am I gonna hide in a mystic's room? Invading his closet would be a step too far for me." He smiled.

"Our ceilings have some sturdy beams you could climb on." Allani furrowed her brows. Sid raised his. They were locked in a stalemate until he stepped forward, committing to the plan before she had the chance to object. He heard her exasperated sigh as she strode by and vanished into the darkness down the hall. One rusty nail was peeking out from the wooden floorboard. He hooked his shoe underneath its head and pried it out until its bent middle was exposed. He knocked twice on the door and heard Davine's voice.

"Who's at my door at this hour?"

"It's just me, brother Davine. I have a few more questions about Embrace. I want to make sure I carry myself in the best way possible." He heard a few footsteps before the door slid open. Davine stood there with a scowl on his face and the eyes that always stayed shut.

"Brother, did I do something wrong?"

"That depends, Sidor. Do you think it's becoming of a new mystic to interrupt people, let alone his head mystic?"

"No sir…"

"Then can you explain to me why you-" Several sets of footsteps echoed down the hall towards them. Hushed voices whispered to each other as the rest of the flock walked to their dormitory together.

"Go join them. We'll discuss this in the morning."

"Of course." Sid started shuffling straight towards the nail he dug up, hooking his foot under it once again. This time, he pulled his weight forward and fell to the floor. He pivoted as he fell to expose the outer side of his foot. A sharp stabbing pain shot up from his ankle. He grabbed his leg and let himself scream in pain. Good thing his tetanus shot was up to date. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It really did fucking hurt.

The jagged side of the nail managed to pull off a good bit of his skin. Nothing that wouldn't heal, of course. The one useful thing his mother ever gave him was a rudimentary knowledge of human anatomy. The inner ankle housed too many nerves to take that chance. Davine looked down at him and sighed, stepping out from his open doorway. It was up to Allani to take the chance and move into his room.

"There, there." Davine knelt down next to him.

"Let me take a look." He turned Sid's leg around a few times while the flock watched in horror. He took a wrapped alcohol pad out of one of his pockets and, without warning, pressed it right against Sid's wound. The sharp throb was replaced with a burning sensation that made his shoulders freeze in place. He bit his lip and suppressed the next scream that tried to come out.

"W-will I be able to walk?" he whimpered. Davine chuckled.

"I'm sure the injury isn't that bad. Besides, I can fix this up in a second." Sid swatted Davine's hand away as soon as it stretched towards him.

"No!" he cried "You can't waste your healing magic on me; it's only supposed to be used on our holy warriors!"

"Sidor, the mystic order is just as important to humanity's war as the witch hunters. For all intents and purposes, we are all holy warriors of the Rose."

"Maybe you are, brother Davine, but I only just graduated. I haven't seen a single battlefield or healed an injured warrior yet."

"Brother Davine," Ife chimed in, "maybe I should just take him to the infirmary…" Davine looked at his flock of worried mystics in perpetual exhaustion. Ife was drifting back and forth in place, barely able to keep himself standing.

"No," Davine sighed.

"You all need to rest. I will accompany Sidor to the infirmary." Sid shoved himself forward and hugged him.

"Oh, thank you brother! You're too kind." The rest of the flock parted and let them through. The infirmary wasn't too far away from the mystics' quarters. It was strange that Embrace had one given the abundance of magical healers, but as Sid just demonstrated, they could be picky about who they chose to heal. Davine must not have considered the majority of Embrace's refugee population to be holy enough for his special hands.

Sid lounged on one of the medical beds as Davine raided the cabinets for alcohol and a bandage roll. Upon inspecting Sid's injury in the light, he also grabbed a pair of tweezers with a sinister smile.

"It looks like you landed on a few sharp pieces of wood sticking out of the floorboard near the nail. Don't worry, I'll have those out for you in no time." Sid bit his lower lip as Davine slowly dug out each splinter. He moved the tweezers in a circular motion while pulling on them, making sure it was as painful for Sid as possible. Now that they were alone, it wasn't the time for Sid's crocodile tears, so he grinned and bore it as Davine wreaked havoc on his poor ankle.

At least the wound wasn't deep enough to be near any important structures. You handle micro-torture well! [Resolve] has increased by one point. Well, it was good to see that his stubbornness wasn't entirely in vain; the stat increase even made the pain a little easier to fight. Maybe a normal person would have considered that micro-torture enough to make Davine a proper enemy, but Sid wasn't convinced yet. He only considered his last headmaster an enemy after he announced his plan to drill into Sid's brain.

The years of non-therapeutic electroconvulsive therapy just didn't impress him enough. Try being the mother that stuck him there, that would make you an enemy in his book. Aw, are you still mad about that? I said I was sorry. He fought the urge to shout "no you fucking didn't" while Davine was still right in front of him. Hmm… I'll give you another point of [Resolve] for that. Wow, what a nice gesture. That totally made up for the decade he spent in prison for adolescent boys.

Davine put his torture tweezers aside and grabbed the bottle of alcohol.

"Alright, everything's out now. I'd better disinfect the area again. The old floorboards here probably carry thousands of germs."

"Thank you," Sid hissed as Davine unceremoniously poured the alcohol straight into the wound.

"You're a wonderful man. I owe you my life."

"You can stop with that nonsense. The younger mystics may be eating out of your hands, but don't think I believe it for a second. You're masking something beneath that ridiculous politeness." Okay. Now came the fun part.

"Brother Davine, whatever do you mean?" Sid batted his eyes.

"I'm just a new mystic trying to survive on this island of sin. I can't show my superior a bit of appreciation?" Davine started furiously wrapping Sid's ankle with the bandage.

"What school did you graduate from, anyway? They taught you awful manners."

"I don't think accusing me of lying is very polite either." Sid grimaced as the bandage tightened.

"And your bedside manner could use a little work, too."

"You insolent little brat!" Sid felt his head jerk to the right as Davine's palm smacked his cheek. The light sting was nothing compared to St Jane's usual punishments. Regardless, physical assault had to have sealed the deal. Davine could now be considered an enemy.

"In all my years on this island I've never had the displeasure of caring for such a rude young man. How do you expect to find a wife with an attitude like that? Every soldier will turn their noses up at you! You're a disgrace to the mystic name and our entire order!" Sid put his hand to his mouth and let his eyes tremble. He was actually trying to conceal a laugh, the idea that not finding a wife would distress him was hilarious, but it worked just as well to pretend he was about to have a mental breakdown.

Davine continued his rant, but Sid had already tuned out. He was focused on how unseemly Davine looked while going all out. His face was red with several veins looking like they were about to burst. His eyes were squeezed shut even tighter than usual, making it look like he had just eaten a lemon. Eventually his voice must've given out. He fell back into a chair in the corner and put his hand to his forehead.

"That's enough for one night. Get out of my sight. I'll decide if you're still welcome in my flock tomorrow." Sid hopped off the bed and bowed to Davine, giving him one last look before turning around. [Board Vision] activated on Davine Shea. Role: The Mystic lvl 28 You are one of Rosaecinism's precious healers. You've been deemed pure enough to wield so-called "holy" healing magic, so you were granted the honor of having that knowledge delivered to your brain via 460 volt shocks.

Rarity: Common Rank: Pawn V Magic User: This pawn is able to wield his own life-blood to cast known spells. Spells are not skills. [Board Vision] cannot tell you what spells this pawn knows. Featured Skill (more available upon request) [Holy Censure] lvl 5: Consume resonance to judge and mark three pawns with one of the following coniditions: [Pure], [Neutral], or [Sinner]. Those marked [Pure] will regenerate 10 resistance points every minute for one hour. [Neutral] pawns are not affected.

Pawns with the [Sinner] mark lose 10 resistance points every minute for one hour. Resonance Reserve: 100 Resistance: 69 [Board Vision] note: this lovely man is a big fish in a little pond; still a pawn trying to hold onto any control he can muster. I'll be watching how you handle him, then I'll know if bringing you here was truly worth it. Rina's description of the mystic role was quite disdainful, which made it more infuriating that she shipped Sid off to one of their schools.

Did she know they would fail to train him in their ways, or was making him into something she hated just a way to justify cutting ties? Maybe he proved himself to her by being such a failure, not that he cared what she thought. He stopped at the door to the infirmary and tilted his head back towards Davine.

"I'm sorry I've disappointed you, sir. I'll do better tomorrow." He gently closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. His heart was pumping rapidly from sheer exhilaration. Who knew making enemies could be so fun? St Jane's would've been more bearable if making an enemy gave him the right to read that person's diary. Hopefully their little excursion into the infirmary gave Allani enough time to get situated in Davine's quarters.

Sid walked down the hall and turned the corner back into the mystics' wing when he felt a hand grab his wrist. He yanked it away and jumped back against the wall.

"Sorry, sorry! Gah! I'm such an idiot." Her face was hard to make out in the darkness, but he recognized Dalisay's voice. She moved her hands behind her back and put her head down.

"I should know better than to touch a mystic. Please forgive me."

"Don't worry, you're forgiven. Besides, if one touch from a woman was going to send me to hell, I'd be doomed already!" Sid started laughing, but Dalisay didn't seem amused.

"Um…you know, because I got shipwrecked here with Allani? There was a lot of uh…touching during the chaos. That's not even counting the two vagrants that grabbed me on the road here." Her head sank further.

"Oh my rose…we've given you such a terrible welcome to Embrace."

"I've had worse welcomes than this, trust me."

"Worse than your head mystic slapping you on your second day?"

"Oh, you saw that?" he asked, scratching his chin.

"I was heading to the infirmary to take inventory. I didn't mean to snoop, but it sounded like you two were having a private conversation, so I walked away until I heard the slap." Sid grabbed her shoulders and started pushing.

"Okay, well he's still in there, so let's get moving before he finds us here." The one thing Sid appreciated about old monasteries was the myriad of dark, abandoned corners. He led Dalisay into one far enough from the mystics' quarters to avoid Davine. With his hands still on her shoulders, he shoved his face closer to hers.

"Dalisay, how long have you been on this island?"

"Uh…I've been here since I was a kid. I think we got stranded like five or six years ago."

"Were any of the mystics here now at Embrace back then?" Dalisay was silent for a moment, her eyes darting up and to the right.

"No? Well, no one except brother Davine. He was still the head mystic. Ramil was there too, of course, but he wasn't a mystic yet and didn't have the role. Peter and Haruya showed up a few years after us, and Ife is pretty new."

"How many mystics died from the five-limit rule since then?"

"Too many." Tears started forming in her eyes.

"God, I can't even remember all of their faces. I think it was seven. Most of them were friends with Ramil. I think their deaths really messed with his head. I begged him not to become a mystic, but it was the only way he could move on without breaking down."

"He's not going to die, Dalisay. No one is going to die in four days." She chuckled through a sob.

"You're not the first mystic to tell me that. I doubt you'll be the last." Dalisay gently pushed past him and walked off towards the normal dormitories. He had pushed her too far yet again. He wasn't used to dealing with people as nice and normal as she was. It was easy to be a leader when your classmates were taught to fear their own shadows. At least brother Davine seemed to follow that teaching method. He slid into the hallway and returned to the mystics' room. Four pairs of eyes looked at him when he walked in.

"I'm fine. Look, my ankle is all better!" He flexed his foot and showed off Davine's handiwork. That was enough to get them all back under their covers. Sid sighed and collapsed into his bed. He only had two mystics left to convert, then Davine was fucked. Tomorrow was going to be a good day.