My System Academy

Eluard grasped Haera's hand on impulse.

"Haera!"

Veron reacted and flicked Eluard's hands away.

"Wait, don't touch her yet!", he warned, "I thought I told you she's under a curse! Touch her carelessly and you'll end up in that as well!"

Eluard jolted and was pulled out of his daze.

"A-a curse?!", he said in disbelief, 'Wait, I remember Veron saying something like that a few days ago!'

'I can feel my magic root resonating with hers but the feeling is too shallow! It's almost like Haera is really dying…'

Eluard analyzed Haera's information to know more about her true situation.

[ Name: Haera Zumfiel ]

[ Age: 24 years old (72 human years) ]

[ Race: Elf ]

[ Status: Curse of the Winter Rose (10 hours left until death) ]

[ Affiliation: Alderian Terrestrial Sanctuary, Alderian Magic Haven, Zumfiel Elven Household ]

[ Magic Power: Adept Wizard (Full Ring) ]

[ Magic Root: Starfall Magic Root (Mythical) ]

[ Magic Aptitude: 9.2/10 (Adept Wizard) ]

[ Magic Affinity: Nature (Wood, Water, Earth) ]

[ … ]

[ Additional Note: Haera has been cursed of the curse of the winter rose by a demonic creature of at least grandmaster magus level. The coldness will slowly eat away the life remaining on her body. There are 10 hours and 45 minutes left before she completely dies out. ]

[ Plausible Remedies: Internal flame massage. Due to the intensity of the fire element in your mana, the coldness can be slowly thawed out by gently inserting flames inside her body and letting it flow thoroughly. ]

[ Other Remedies

1.      Concocting and ingesting the golden flame pill. The golden flame pill can be ingested to temporarily alleviate the victim's suffering. If concocted using the host's mana, Haera will only need to ingest three pills in the span of 9 days before the curse vanishes completely.

2.      Breath of a divine flame dragon. Convince Arahon to bathe Haera under his intense yet effective flames for 30 full minutes. It may cause burns and other injuries.

3.      …

]

Eluard took a deep breath. It looks like he has the chance to save Haera now more than ever. Waiting for Arahon wasn't an option.

The only reason he was here was because of the unprecedented surprise attack from the undead. Otherwise, he would have left the students on their own and met with Elder Flock to continue with the operation.

Meanwhile, his four students blankly stared at their senior brother, wondering how was he able to meet such beauty and how deep their relationship go.

'Senior brother Kai is caring of that elf. His reaction earlier is proof of that.', Lucan thought.

It wasn't the time to ask the senior brother some personal questions. The mood inside the carriage was cold and disheartening, centered around Eluard and Haera.

The slight ruckus alerted Haera and woke her up. Her sight was blurry and she could not clearly distinguish the people looking at her inside the carriage.

"Uncle… where are you? Who are these people?"

Her weak voice softened the hearts of everyone. What a poor situation she was in. If only someone could help her out of her predicament…

"Haera, they're…"

Eluard interjected, "Haera, it's me!"

Her mouth let out a gasp, shocked by the fact that the voice of the man she was eager to meet before she dies has resounded beside her.

"Ah! You're here Mr. Kai…"

Knowing that things would get dramatic and maybe romantic, Veron signaled the rest to get out. They departed without Eluard ever noticing due to his attention focused entirely on the elf in front of him.

Veron sat on the other side, keeping a check on the situation that would unfold. He then noticed something crawling on his back.

"You, how are you still here?"

Lila grinned, "Uncle, please don't tell papa that I am here."

Veron's expression darkened. What a cheeky little brat. Did she think that her father was an idiot?

Regardless, Veron was willing to put up with her for now.

"Kid, what are you doing here? Do you want to see two people making love in front of you?", he tried to threaten her.

"Making love? What's that?", Lila tilted her head in confusion, waiting for Veron to tell her what was he talking about.

Seeing her reaction, Veron was at a loss. Normally, kids would get embarrassed once the topic of love was brought up. This little girl was not only unafraid, her ignorance was fueling up the courage in her heart.

She even challenged Veron by giving him the chance to threaten her again.

'Damn it, children are annoying sometimes.'

Lila saw that Veron did not want to explain things to her. Since the old man was uninterested, she pointed at Eluard and Haera, "Uncle, do you not see that?", whispering to his ears and hoping to gain his attention again.

"See what?", Veron was confused.

When he turned his head back around, he saw Eluard's right hand tightly grabbing Haera's left hand.

The coldness didn't seem to have affected him. Rather, the coldness that had once remained on Haera's skin was thawed out for reasons unknown to Veron.

"Uncle, I can feel the coldness leaving that big sister's body. And the source of the warm is coming from the big brother over there.", Lila told him what she felt and saw.

The little elf's words blanked Veron's mind.

'He is dissipating the effects of the winter rose? But how?! This young man should not be an archmage yet, I know it, but for his flames to do that…'

He was awed at how powerful the people of the Heavenly Magic Academy were.

'Is this fate? Or is it simply a coincidence? Did someone pre-ordain this event?', he was full of questions and hungry for answers.

Looking at Haera's comfortable expression, Veron was elated in his heart. He thought that Haera would feel slight burning pain or discomfort but Eluard's methods exceeded his expectations.

He then turned to Lila, bewildered at how this little girl managed to identify the events happening between Eluard and Haera.

'Does that Aurpiel know of her abilities?'

Lila's father was just a normal human. Maybe he did not want his child to be appraised by the wizards because there was no way for Lila to develop a magic root.

But clearly, based on Veron's observations, Lila did have one and it wasn't a simple magic root.

'I won't bother her about it. Even if I want her to be a mage, she should be the one to decide for herself along with her father's acceptance.'

Veron sighed, patting Lila's head and having her sit on his lap. If Lila wanted to become a mage in the future, he'll have to convince her to join the Heavenly Magic Academy.

Or persuade the young man in front of him to accept the request.

"Don't disturb them, little one. Do you understand?"

Lila excitedly agreed, 'Maybe this is what the old uncle meant by making love?', referring to Eluard and Haera.

"Haera, it's good to see you again."

Haera smiled, "It's good to see you again too, Mr. Kai. Did your juniors receive those things you have bought for them?"

"Yes, yes. They have received them a long time ago.", Eluard replied.

"Ah, you are a responsible senior brother, aren't you?", Haera chuckled.

Eluard shook his head, "I don't think I am as responsible as you think I am Haera. But still… thanks…"

"Without your help, I might have a harder time selling those things around and buying the quality stuff."

Haera shook her head, "It should be me thanking you, Mr. Kai. Do you remember that day you abruptly left?"

Eluard nodded, "Yes, what about it, Haera?"

"No-nothing…", Haera coughed while blushing. Speaking her thoughts in front of him was embarrassing.

What if Eluard laughed it off and broke her heart instead?

She shifted her focus and noticed Eluard touching her hand. The sight of it made her emotional.

"Is it cold to the touch, Mr. Kai?"

Eluard smiled, "What coldness, Haera? Are you talking about the curse?"

"Yes, the curse…."

She stuttered, realizing that a warm current was flowing throughout her body. She fluttered her eyes incessantly, wondering whether she was dreaming or not.

Haera closed her eyes and felt her inner body.

'My left hand. Those gentle flames have melted it all. Is this what Kai is doing right now?'

She opened her eyes again and looked at Eluard.

"Mr. Kai, this is not a dream, right? Am I really awake?", she asked.

"You are not dreaming, Haera. You are wide awake. Just rest easy there, I will take care of things from here."

Eluard increased the quantity and intensity of the flames he was transferring inside Haera's body. He had been subtly executing the internal flame massage he studied months before.

All it required was for him to find the point in her body which was the outlet or inlet of mana. With the use of his Eye of Fidelity, this step was easily done by Eluard.

The flames would travel around her body like how blood does. At that point, he only needed to retain the continuous supply of mana, something that the current Eluard was not lacking.

As for the more sensitive organs in her body like her brain, Eluard would be careful around them so as to not inflict a burn and injure her in the process.

"Mr. Kai, what is going on? How are you able to…"

"I'll talk about it later, Haera. I'll focus on thawing out the coldness first."

Eluard closed his eyes.

Haera nodded and rested her head on the seat. She glanced at Eluard who closed his eyes and knitted his eyebrows.

'This warm feeling… I can feel it better now.'

She was at death's door a minute ago and suddenly her vitality was quickly returning to her thanks to the man that has helped her twice.

'Mr. Kai… thank you for doing this to me. I swore I will repay you and the Heavenly Magic Academy.'