4 The power is in the calcium

"The Power Lies in Calcium"

"You broke my hand." Damian furrowed his brows and said, "Don't be overdramatic; get up."

All the children in the room looked at Damian in surprise; silence instantly took over the surroundings.

But soon, the children glanced at each other and retreated to the corners of the room. However, there were a few children who sided with Marcus because he had promised them many good things, so innocence played a significant role in these children's choices.

"Damian, it seems you've recovered." The first child raised his trembling hand and searched the floor for something to hit Damian with. "But now, for hitting our friend, you must face the consequences."

Damian didn't know what kind of drama this was. Shouldn't normal children be scared immediately after seeing someone hit their friend? Clearly, there was a mental issue with these children; none of them seemed like orphans who had lost their parents.

But remembering that everyone here competes for supremacy, Damian extended his bony left hand and threw a punch that landed directly in the center of a wooden bench that had been taken as a weapon to attack him.

The wooden bench shattered with a loud crash, and debris fell on the face of the child, who bravely took the initiative to attack.

But at that moment, the kids suddenly froze; none of them had intentions to attack anymore.

Everyone fell silent, their faces no longer filled with surprise but with horror.

Even Marcus, who had fallen to the ground while groaning, looked at Damian's left hand in shock and unconsciously backed away.

Damian's skeletal hand couldn't be hidden. The servants didn't wear gloves and did a lot of daily work, so it was impossible to hide his left hand forever.

Damian wouldn't waste energy hiding this new appearance of his left hand, thus surprising everyone while not highlighting the strength he had just displayed.

"Are you cursed?"

Unexpectedly, the first thing everyone thought of was a curse.

"Is this curse contagious?"

"Come on, run and find the butler."

Damian didn't bother to explain; he looked at Marcus and, with a mischievous smile, suddenly extended his left hand to touch him.

"Ahhhh!!!!" Marcus was so scared that he didn't even care about the wound on his left hand; he rolled and crawled backward.

Damian waved his left hand again in front of everyone.

The group of children was also so scared that they screamed and retreated.

Only at this moment did Damian feel very childish, but it was fun in its own way, so things like his own thoughts didn't matter to him.

"Starting tomorrow, I won't clean the hallway anymore." No one in the room dared to refute.

"You take turns!"

After saying that, Damian pointed at Marcus with his skeletal index finger and said, "You'll be first."

Marcus's expression suddenly changed...

"Butler, that's him. He didn't report the curse!" A child's voice came from behind.

Damian turned around and saw another boy who always laughed at him entering with a middle-aged man in a black uniform.

The butler showed no fear when he saw Damian's hand waving at everyone while making a certain expression with his middle finger raised towards the other children.

But obviously, the butler showed no signs of disinterest and said, "Come quickly."

Damian looked at the informer and followed the butler in silence.

The two arrived at the washroom.

"Tell me about it." The butler was not a childish child; being the one to resolve any issues that might arise in this place, he had much more knowledge than anyone else and knew he should listen to all explanations before making a decision based on the information obtained.

"I participated as a test subject for an experiment for the mage Syndra, a second-class mage."

The butler was surprised. "Were you willing to do something like that?"

Damian was confused; don't they serve as fertilizer for plants if they can't complete their work correctly?

"Ahem..." The butler coughed twice: "I mean, did Miss Syndra pay you? If not, you can request compensation from me. After all, servants are special assets and protected by the tower lord; even her apprentices don't have the right to touch you at will."

Damian couldn't believe what the butler was saying and gave him a suspicious look.

Before Damian traveled to this magical world, a mage apprentice killed him with a spell that sent him flying into the sky. But after his death, now that he had awakened in this body, he didn't want to ask for explanations for fear of being killed or discarded like garbage.

Therefore, Damian thought this butler was investigating whether he and Syndra had some kind of deeper friendship.

In that sense, Damian said calmly, "I'm not interested in claiming it; I like to be helpful."

Seeing the butler's expression change slightly, he continued, "Miss Syndra and I have received clear adjustments, so there are no complaints."

The butler's expression changed again.

When he heard what had happened, he forced a smile.

"Ah, haha, well, since you... then I won't mind too much. You can go back. You don't have to work for these two days, so you can rest well."

Damian bowed respectfully and said, "I appreciate your grace, Mr. Butler."

After saying that, he pushed the door and saw the group of children huddled at the dormitory door, listening to what he and the butler were talking about.

Damian approached, and the kids immediately retreated into the room.

"You!" Damian pointed at the boy who had tattled, "It's your turn the day after tomorrow."

The other person's face was as white as Marcus's.

For the next two days, Damian lived a fairly comfortable life.

No one assigned him work, and he could wander through most areas from the fourth to the first floor. No one dared to speak to him, so he finally could fill his stomach with large amounts of food and, for some reason, felt much stronger.

"He felt that his body was growing at great speed; his arms showed muscles, which was very strange because he was only eleven years old. But from what he could tell, his bones were becoming stronger.

Even the butler sent him a medicine bottle, mentioning that it would heal his head wound. But that medicine was unnecessary. Even the scar on his face had disappeared.

However, Damian accepted the medicine with respect and thanked the butler repeatedly for his kindness.

Everything he enjoys now comes from everyone's speculation about his relationship with Syndra, who is rumored to be a first-class mage but, for some reason, hides her strength. As for him, if he can't become a mage apprentice, all will be in vain, and eventually he will return to his original form as a servant.

What he had seen was that Syndra was very mysterious; just the potion Damian experimented with began to bring many changes to his body. Not only was he heavier, but his strength had also increased significantly.

What kind of dark potion was that?

Damian couldn't know; he even realized that Syndra wasn't interested in knowing his name.

Without becoming a mage apprentice, there's no qualification to get excited about the privileges he has now, and he knows that scaring weak children is not enough because there are much more terrifying things outside that can bury his body with just one breath.

...

On the third day, something happened.

The boy who went to clean the hallway early that morning did not return.

In the end, the butler brought his body some time later, and many who saw him being taken to the flower garden spread rumors.

A child eagerly gave Damian a vivid description, saying that the whole head of the dead servant had turned into a flower.

The skull is used as wood, while the flesh, skin, and liquids serve as fertilizer for the flowers to grow.

After the butler brought the body, he delivered it directly to the garbage house for disposal. Blood was dripping on the floor, and he even called Damian, who was resting, to help scrub the floor.

Damian and a group of children kneeled down and vigorously cleaned the blood-stained floor.

None of the mage apprentices passing by paid attention. They are all a group of young mages who are always in a hurry and don't care at all about the death of a servant.

Damian even saw the woman whom he addressed as "Miss" out of respect, although she is probably over thirty years old, pass by without paying attention to her surroundings.

After returning, the butler returned.

"I think you've rested enough. You'll start working normally tomorrow."

"Understood!" Damian agreed without any problems.

Someone whispered behind him.

Obviously, someone interested noticed this interaction between Damian and Syndra; some thought Damian had lied about his conversation with her and especially about participating in an experiment that left his hand skeletal.

Seeing Damian agreeing so happily, the butler nodded.

But at that moment, someone even older than the butler who was in charge of the mage tower arrived, and at that moment, the butler himself greeted that elderly person and said, "Master Butler, what brings you here?"

The elderly person ignored the butler's attention and only told Damian with a cold face, "Are you Damian?"

Damian had realized that the opportunity Syndra had mentioned had arrived.

He secretly clenched his hands, hidden in his sleeves. "Yes, sir."

"Then follow me."

The butler turned around and left, not paying attention to the butler's words throughout the time.

Damian walked beside the elderly person, bowed to the butler behind him, and followed the path.

...

As far as one could see, besides the mage tower, there were other buildings where fruits, vegetables, and animals were cultivated. Ordinary people whose villages had been attacked by demons worked there, so for them, serving mages and maintaining their protection was the best opportunity.

In addition to those places, there were also completely uninhabited resting areas because the mages here who are apprentices of the mage tower lord are all enclosed; only young apprentices who are titled mages could be seen.

Damian silently followed the elderly person, and soon, passing through an open field, they arrived at the tower, climbing up to the sixth floor.

Most of the people living on the sixth to ninth floors are young mage apprentices, and there are also higher-level apprentices who have advanced but are unwilling to move.

Normally, there are very few people in the mage tower, but today the hallway was crowded.

They were all neatly dressed teenage children, but none of these children had the innocence of normal children; they all seemed pale and scared.

"Go and stand at the back." The elderly person led Damian to the back of the line, calmly pointing out the place while looking around.

"Yes." Damian knew it was about the newly admitted mage apprentice; he suppressed the excitement in his heart, walked slowly, and stood silently behind the group.

When the person behind him heard the noise, he turned alert and looked at Damian, first confused and then showing some anger.

Damian didn't know why he had that expression, but he returned the gaze, showing confusion behind his blindfolded eyes.

After living with these kids for a few days, Damian finally understood.

This world is different from his: if you are harmonious and friendly, you will only be considered weak and can be bullied.

If that's the case, then Damian could toughen up too. After all, like the others, he is also competing for glory in this mage tower.