Murlocs (3)

'How much time has passed?', Ourin asked himself, his muscles soaring in pain, his skin drenched in sweat and blood, his eyes growing tired, his breath depleted of vitality.

Minutes...hours...Without stopping, he continued to block and slash methodically at those creatures which did not seem to give up no matter how many of their peers died. Harry somehow managed to survive too, using his spear to thrust and fend off the murlocs coming his way, while Joella's body could no longer be recognized, having been trampled and bitten by those frog-like creatures mercilessly.

Just like that, one of their companion from the steelcrest alliance had died, and the worst part in all this was the fact that she was but one of the countless casualties on the deck. Dozens of seamen already suffered from the same fate, and they were all preparatory knights. Fortunately, Harry possessed good foundations and Ourin's knight cultivation allowed him to stand his ground.

Dozens, hundreds of murlocs had died at Ourin's hands already, his sword following its optimal path, the result of months of intense training. Few knights could display such mastery of the sword and shield technique, especially one of noble origins like the Ironguard swordsmanship. 

As three murlocs charged at Ourin, the latter did not retreat a step, but instead moved forward, his large shield protecting him from the incoming mace and sword strikes. Without hesitation, he bashed the shield and stunned the murloc, sending the creature several meters away, making it stumble and even fall off the boat altogether. The two murlocs seemed unimpressed, though, as they continued to strike, seeing this as an opportunity.

Ourin did not back down, and elegantly deflected the blow with his own sword, slitting their throats in a skillful counter attack. Azure blood splashed onto his armour, the scent of the putrid battlefield rising to his nostrils once again. Grown accustomed to such horror, Ourin turned his head, looking at Harry, who similarly charged and thrust his spear onto a single murloc's heart. 

'Finally...', Ourin sighed in relief

Unlike the beginning where dozens of murlocs would swarm them in a flash, the number of murloc seemed to have finally reduced. Ourin looked around him. Corpses were everywhere. Most of them were not human casualties, but dead murlocs. However, there was no denying that many seamen and apprentices had died on this crimson day. Taking a look at the sea, Ourin, could see that the crystal clear water had been tainted in a mix of crimson, azure and green blood, showing a semblance of the brutality that had occured on the deck.

From afar, he could see that the vast majority of the apprentices who survived had joined hands and survived under the protection of Captain Kirkuk, an esteemed knight who put the apprentices' life above that of his own seamen. As such, the apprentice casualties were lower. Still, those who were too far away from this part of the deck, isolated groups like Ourin's, had all been decimated. Only two survivors remained besides this large group: Ourin and Harry.

A veil of shadow finally surrounded them, and at first, Ourin tried to run away from it, afraid of the unknown.

"What is this?", Harry shouted in fear

Ourin had a similar worry, but before he could do anything, he found himself disoriented in another place. Putting the shield in a defensive manner, and putting his back onto the walls that had appeared beside him, he quickly assessed the situation, before lowering his guard slightly.

He bowed slightly: "Thank you for saving us, Magus Nocturne"

Magus Nocturne quickly assessed the two newest boys and shrugged: "Both grade 1 talents, huh...Well, it doesn't matter. Congratulations on passing the test. Now that I've fulfilled my quota, I will tell you the rules"

Julia cowered in fear, and the rest of the apprentices paled, but Magus Nocturne did not take any more fingers off Julia, and simply paused.

Ourin realized that they were not the only disciples that had been summoned to Magus Nocturne's cabin. He could see Julia, whose left hand was bandaged and showed one missing finger, a young man with blazing blond hair and blue eyes called Kaliweir. Just like him, he seemed to be a knight. Last but not least, there were twin boys, with very average black hair and brown eyes. They were called Henry and Viktor.

They did not seem anything special, but ever since he had stepped into this world, Ourin knew better than judge people by their appearance.

From Magus Nocturne's disdain upon seeing them, it seemed like their talent would be a major obstacle in earning his favour.

"Consider yourselves lucky, as you will become my apprentices in the future. You already know Julia, but make no mistake, she is the only one here worthy of being nurtured. As for you untalented mongrels, you will become tools. You will run errands, clean my laboratory and search for ressources I seek. In exchange, I will give you ten minutes of my time, every week, individually. There, you can ask me any knowledge you want. If you participate in my experiments, I will up this allocated time to one hour per week. Anyone interested?

The twins raised their hands, thinking they made a good deal: "We will participate in your experiments, master"

Magus Nocturne revealed an eerie smile, but Ourin had a face full of relief. He knew better than to believe everything in the book for what it says, however, some of it was just purely logical and to be expected. There was no such thing as a free meal in this world, much less in a dark magus academy like the Mercifura Academy. In a way, he was pretty lucky to have stumbled upon a magus who did not force them to become part of their experiments, or perhaps it was a rule that prevented them from doing so.

Saved, but exhausted, Ourin fought the urge to fall on the ground from exhaustion, which did not escape Magus Nocturne's perspicacious eyes: "You are the one who fell 128 murlocs in the battle, huh? Judging from your size and skills, you are indeed suited for the path of body refinement"

Materializing a dark chest out of thin air, Magus Nocturne rummaged through trinkets and vials, before taking out a small flask with a green, putrid liquid inside it. 

"Take this as a reward for lasting so long in this battlefield. It is a [Murloc Essence Elixir], which I brewed myself a few dozen years ago. It is said to increase your life force, and by extension, your physical attributes. Although its taste is very repugnant, most body refinement acolytes would kill for such an elixir. I think its value is roughly 8 magic crystals, although those who know how to brew such potions in the Mercifura Academy can only be counted on one's hands. It is a good introduction about what I teach in the academy. I am a specialist of negative energy, necromancy and anatomy in general. I can give you courses and pointers on several fields, from incantations to basic undead summons, as well as potioneering"

Ourin accepted the gift without hesitation and drank it in one go, before his face turned completely blue. Fighting the urge to vomit the content, he sat down and started to practice the Ironguard Breathing Technique.