Hidden Before Their Eyes

Chapter 8: Consecutive Fights

The second of my consecutive battles I finish quickly and end with a sigh. It took two blows to knock her out. Whoever is trying to test me is not even trying apparently, that or there are just not any people for them to pit me against. Then again I am slightly thankful for the easy fight. Yara had been pushing me with sword training all day, leaving me exhausted and with noodles for arms.

At dinner I get seconds and am grateful no one questions it. Replenishing my energy with human foods is hard enough as it is without being pushed past the point of exhaustion. I wonder how long I will last before either my body shuts down from being starved of its magic or I end up giving into the temptation and reboot my magic with supplements. Neither is preferable but if worse comes to worse I will take a supplement to save myself. For now I can only hope that it is a far off event that is not looming over me.

That night sleep eludes my best efforts. My various worries, stresses, and anxieties plaguing my mind. Anything and everything from being found out to learning sword fighting and occasionally thoughts on those around me, the humans and otherwise.

In the morning I can feel the bags under my eyes. My body has not built up the stamina to be fighting everyday, let alone doing so on no sleep. In the morning as usual Yara pulls me out of classes. However instead of leading me to the training arena we head to an area I have yet to be in before. We head up multiple flights of stairs and come upon a door.

This door stands out because unlike the rest which are old and worn down, this one is clearly still new and in its prime state. Yara opens the door and inside I see a middle aged woman behind a desk. She appears to be immersed in her current task, scribbling away at the papers before her. Yara pushes me in and then closes the door behind me. The noise alerts the woman and she looks up. A mixture of dread and expectation come over her expression.

"Carino," she says simply.

I walk forward and sit in the chair opposite her. "Why am I here?" I ask, coming across a bit more agitated than I had intended

"You look exhausted," she comments.

"That is the result of no sleep an intensive training. If I was doing chipper it would be more surprising," I respond sarcastically.

Her expression turns more amused before turning into a business face. "Carino are you a human?" She asks.

I can feel the color leave my face, before a split second later I cover it up. I cough and ask, "Excuse me?"

"We've been watching you very closely after you fought against the incubus Hak. We had intended for him to win and return to Level S. However you beat him like it was child's play," She explains. "Therefore we are under the impression you aren't human, instead that you've lost your magic."

"I was an information dealer, of sorts, before enrolling here. If a simple trick from an incubus would result in my own undoing then I would have died long ago," I bluff, keeping as close to the truth as I can.

"You haven't answered my question Carino. Are you a human?" She repeats.

"What do you have a lie detector?" I dodge her question, my mind racing as to how I can get out of this with her thinking I am a human.

"I do. I know that you are not being truthful with me so I need a straight answer Carino," she says, confirming my suspicions.

"Then I cannot answer you without jeopardizing myself. For all intensive purposes I am magic-less so it does not exactly make a difference, does it?" I offer.

"It does. The Academy as an entity treats all species differently. If you are acting as a human while you are not one you are jeopardizing those around you," she says, throwing my wording back at me.