Chapter 56: Vitality Preservation Formation
While Dave was drowning in his own imagination, pleased with himself and what the future holds for him, his thoughts were brutally cut by the status window announcing the duel quest as Colten’s proxy.
He started reading carefully, then his face twitched. Lifetime vs. a single trial duration... How did they even discuss such terms inside? But looking at how his master usually does things, he thought he maybe was being cautious and played the savage opponent of his.
But on a second thought, it could also be the savage’s doing...
But he was assured; terms or penalties were meaningless. He was going to kill him and get this over with regardless of anything.
By then, Moon opened the office door to finally leave, Colten behind him.
He turned his head and looked him in the eyes. "For the next 16 hours, if you pick a fight with me again, I’ll bash your head," flaunting his fist in front of Colten’s face.
Colten was too tired at this point to engage in another fight with Moon; he wanted to lock himself in his room, or even sleep till the time of the duel. His face looked lifelessly tired; he might as well be wondering how Moon had that much energy till this point.
But Moon had no business knowing any of this. He was already pleased with himself and started walking away from Colten and his group, but as he started marching... his eyes fell on the duo who attempted to assault him previously.
Basil and Barrett.
He scratched the back of his head a couple times before turning back to Samuel’s office, but before he did, he gave them an order.
"Wait here."
He stood in front of the door again.
Knock knock.
No answer came. Moon decided to give it another try.
Knock knock.
Still nothing, but Moon didn’t give up; instead, he pursed his lips, knowing the old man’s temper.
Knock knock knock knock knock knock.
A streak of knocks started to echo, and it finally came.
"Come in," Samuel permitted.
Knock knock. "Oh." Moon was a tad slow to stop his knock streak.
He opened the door, facing Samuel again, that face that seemed to not want to look at living people ever again, but he just closed the door before speaking.
’Does he ever smile?’ Moon wondered before speaking.
"Um, teacher, I poached two unaffiliated brats from that greenhead bastard," he stated proudly.
"You did," Samuel, unimpressed.
"I did." Moon nodded, even more proudly.
"And?" Unexpectedly, that was all Samuel said.
Puzzled, "What do I do with them?" Moon questioned.
Samuel didn’t answer; they kept staring at one another.
For some reason, the way Samuel looked at him made him feel like an idiot.
Racking his brain, "Um, teacher, I mean, will they get taught?" Moon clarified properly.
"Take them to Uon," Samuel, as if waiting for his answer, stated. "Now leave."
Moon nodded and walked out.
Behind the door, everyone had already left, but the duo.
"Follow me, you bastards might have gotten lucky falling into my hands," Moon said as he started walking.
But after a few steps he stopped. Uon... where would he find him?
It wasn’t time for the eatery, nor would he be in Hall 1 either.
"Where do I find him anyway?" Moon wasn’t sure where he was going, but he remembered Uon said he was going to the medical ward.
Where was the ward, though?
He looked around where he stood; there were a few buildings around, but none with the Medical Ward sign.
He turned around to Barrett. "Hey, do you know where the medical ward is?"
Barrett blinked twice before raising a finger pointing at the building further ahead with a red cross on it. "That’s the medical ward."
Moon followed where his finger pointed. "Oh..." He had no idea; he had never seen one before. On the first floor, whoever got hurt that badly usually is left to die... He was the ’living example’ of this in one way or another.
In no time, they were in front of the door of the medical ward; the door was already open ajar.
Moon pushed it open; the duo followed.
Inside, there were rows of beds on both sides, but what they had their eyes on was something more magnificent than these beds.
Not just Basil and Barrett, even Moon had seen such a view only once before; it was almost comparable to the secret room of Samuel.
Arcane circles filled every wall, every bed, and every empty space of the gigantic hall, and on the ceiling, there was something that couldn’t be called an arcane circle.
It was one whole hive of intersecting circles hosting one another inside the gaps of its own rotation.
"By the tower," Basil exclaimed at the sight, and Barrett kept staring without a pause... It was for them an impossible sight to witness.
As for Moon, he was following the ticking rotations of these circles; it was breathtaking. But what Moon was feeling was different... It felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
He couldn’t put his hand on it, and he couldn’t recall why he felt familiarity from it.
"Oh, what are you doing here?" Uon’s voice came from behind. Moon turned around to see the ever-smiling face of his, and the girl on the bed to the side, looking stable... the bleeding had stopped, but her entire face was bandaged.
Moon didn’t answer immediately; instead... he pointed at the ceiling. "What is this?"
"Oh, that caught your eyes." Uon nodded. "Actually, this is something even the greatest forces within the tower might never be able to see even once within their nearly unending lifetimes." Uon gave an introduction that made Basil and Barrett drown in greater awe, but left Moon more impatient.
’That yellow bastard is at it again,’ Moon thought before rubbing his forehead.
He nodded. "I’m speechless, stunned, and can’t believe the awe of the sight," Moon said the things Uon was probably wanting to hear, before asking again. "So, what exactly is that?" He smiled with an excited face.
Uon scratched his head a couple times. "You already know I operate the facility arcane."
Moon nodded.
"This is one of the very few I don’t operate. I don’t even think I would ever be qualified to touch something like this..." Uon shook his head. "I honestly don’t even know if this is an arcane art."
"What are you talking about?" Moon was puzzled by Uon’s one-sided speech.
Uon closed his eyes for a moment. "You know when someone gets injured, severely even, they will start to lose blood, heat of their body..."
Moon nodded. "Isn’t that obvious?"
"Such aspects are usually believed to be indicators of something else, the very essence of life that keeps every person alive regardless of how damaged or dying he could be." Uon gave another riddle that didn’t sit right with Moon.
He wasn’t sure what Uon was speaking about; he only knows that you die if you get damaged enough beyond your capacity for healing.
Thus, the currently introduced concept was beyond what he knew or experienced throughout his entire life.
"Assistant Uon, do you mean Vitality?"
Someone spoke behind Moon. He turned around to see it was Barrett, but the term Vitality was something he had never heard.
Uon, on the other hand, nodded. "Indeed, it is Vitality."
Moon got severely impatient. "So what is this thing?"
"This is Vitality Preservation Formation."
