How History is Written in the Infirmary (1)
The next day. Old school building lounge.
Esdinas Academy sees injuries all the time, thanks to its nature. There are three reasons for that.
First, it's packed with teenagers around eighteen who are all itching to establish their pecking order. Even in a regular high school, guys and girls sort out hierarchies naturally—what do you think happens in an academy like this? The best swordsmen want to show off their blades, and the magically gifted can't resist bragging about their spell repertoire.
Second, the academy itself fosters that kind of ranking through combat prowess. Officially, they aim to cultivate top talent, and grades here roughly scale with fighting strength.
And the third reason? That's probably why the brawls never stop.
"Injuries, right? Potions or healing magic fix 'em right up, yeah?"
As Unia put it, human wounds here heal so ridiculously fast that even modern medicine would call it absurd.
"Exactly. With magic and potions, you can even reattach a severed arm."
Magic might not match science in every field of mystery, but when it comes to healing people, it's leagues ahead of modern medicine. Cuts? Healing magic. Amputations? Advanced regeneration spells. Sure, those guzzle mana like crazy, but for scrapes, bruises, or breaks, the academy's medical facilities handle it no sweat.
The protagonist wrecking his body in fights, then popping into the infirmary to look good as new on the outside.
Even if you're gushing blood, stabbed up, or missing fingers and toes—as long as you're breathing, Esdinas Academy can bring you back.
In some cases, they can even revive the dead.
Magic. Divine power. In this academy brimming with endless potential, we were about to meet the woman in charge of student healthcare.
Knock knock.
A knock from outside. Someone's voice calls out as they rap on the door by hand.
"It's open."
"Oh, really? Coming in~"
A sultry, soothing voice—like a healing balm. But I knew exactly who it belonged to.
I held up two fingers toward Unia.
"...V?"
She mirrored me with a V-sign, but I mouthed it before the door swung open: Apocalypse.
"......!"
Esta's successor in impending doom was right outside, on the verge of entering.
Creeeak.
The woman who pushed open the old school building's creaky door...
"Hiya!"
"...Uh, hello?"
...was a green-haired beauty in a white coat, her outfit screaming for attention in all directions.
"Um, uh..."
Unia stared blatantly at the newcomer's midriff.
"Oh, this?"
Her stomach was completely exposed.
"It's my style."
She pointed up and down her bare abdomen.
A tank top above, a miniskirt barely qualifying as one below. Test tubes dangling from her belt? Not your everyday look.
"First things first, let me check you out. You're the two special admits—Unia and Red, right?"
"I'd prefer Phoenix over Red, if you don't mind."
"Oh? Phoenix it is, then! Nice to meet you. Do you know my name?"
"...I know the green-haired coat lady runs the academy infirmary."
Heroine, No. 12.
"Cardisha Alreister."
"Spot on! You know your stuff!"
Her name was Cardisha, surname Alreister. Doesn't scream "medicine" at first glance, but this woman was extraordinary in every way.
"Uh, Alreister...?"
"Quiz time, as your instructor! Where does the name Alreister come from?"
Cardisha beamed, tossing out the question.
Any Esdinas student worth their salt knew this basic fact.
"From one of the four founding heroes of the academy... the great archmage Alreister?"
"Correct!"
The great archmage Alreister. Chang Yeom had shown me hell's gateway before—that's where the four academy founders were sealed, and one was the archmage named Alreister.
"I'm his direct descendant. My family's served as instructors here for generations."
The archmage sealed his body deep underground, but he left behind his bloodline and magic as a legacy for posterity.
Of course, he kept the academy's secrets buried. Emperors, saints, heroes—they all made arrangements before sealing themselves away, but they hid the netherworld gate completely.
Cardisha here knew nothing about that.
"I specialize in magitech, focusing on alchemy. My goal? Recreate the 'Philosopher's Stone' my ancestor Alreister wielded."
"Oh... I see."
Unia blinked in confusion, glancing at me like, Why's she telling us this?
She's a different vibe from Esta—got Unia off-balance.
Esta was stiff and laconic, skipping anything non-essential as an instructor.
Cardisha was the opposite. Chatty, rambling, but always crystal-clear on her point.
"That's why I always need fresh students. Grads to help with my research."
Like right now.
"Grads...?"
"Yeah. Interested?"
"What's that...?"
"Oh, you don't know grads? Let me explain... ahem."
Cardisha's eyes sparkled at Unia, but she cleared her throat and cut off at the presence behind her.
"Don't start with that nonsense again, Cardisha."
"Nonsense? Recruiting eager scholars—what's wrong with that?"
Esta appeared, pressing down on Cardisha's shoulder—a "cut it out" gesture. Cardisha smacked her lips regretfully and stepped forward.
"Fine. With the ghost instructor here, straight to business."
She was still grinning ear to ear.
"Simple reason I'm here: to analyze your mana patterns."
"Mana patterns?"
"Think of it as student registration...?"
Cardisha flashed a wry smile, pulling something from her pocket.
"All academy students get their mana scanned. Then we tailor potions to each person's mana. I handle the brewing."
"Potions... like healing potions?"
"HP, MP, stamina—you name it. Some specialty ones too, but those are grad-only."
She slipped in her grad obsession mid-explanation.
"Your choice, of course."
"Huh?"
"I don't love this part myself—"
"Cardisha."
Esta's low warning, but Cardisha shrugged with a smirk.
"It's true, right? Once your mana pattern's logged, every spell you cast in the academy pings the system forever."
"Wait... what...?"
"Mana registration."
"......?"
Unia tilted her head at my words.
"In short, every trait of our mana gets recorded here—like fingerprints."
"Fingerprints..."
"Say there's a murder. They'd scan the mana residue at the scene, match it to student patterns."
"......!!"
Call it a human rights violation if you want.
"Isn't that... kinda creepy?"
"It is."
As Unia said, mana leaks from you just by breathing—hard not to feel watched. As a modern Korean guy, it hits like a social security number, but for Unia without that baggage, it'd be even more unsettling.
"No worries. Nothing to sweat."
The real issue? Maybe co-ed mana overlapping in shared spaces.
"It's all to boost your mana growth. Right?"
"Yep. Custom potions help, and pattern analysis lets us assign mana herbs suited to your type—increasing your total mana."
Cardisha cupped under her tank top with a grin.
"My pattern scan let me grow these. Back when I was little? Total flat."
She stroked her bare stomach.
"Trust me once? No regrets. Might even get bigger than now. I'm an instructor in magitech and alchemy, but personally? Technician extraordinaire!"
Cardisha alternated grins between Esta and Unia.
"So Unia, you're with Esta, then..."
She turned to me with a sly smile.
"Phoenix opted out against me, so how about a private chat?"
Her eyes gleamed with challenge—or predatory curiosity.