Fourth floor of the main Academy building- there was a room which was not anything less than a royal dispensary. The room was lavishly decorated. The two windows provided an ample amount of natural light an wind. There was a mid sized red magic circle drawn on the wall, heading the entire room. A young man was lying on the luxurious bed. Beside the bed, a woman was sitting on a chair.

Adrian felt soft caresses on his cheeks as he opened his eyes. Though everyone thought he was terribly exhausted, it was not the case; his vision was as clear as it could be. A pretty middle-aged face came into his view. It was Dean Jenkins, the head of the medical department.

“Child, wake up. How do you feel?” She smiled.

“How long has it been?” He asked, though he knew the exact answer.

“Three days.”

He tried to sit up. But before he could use his own hands to anchor, the dean who just stood up gently pushed him up.

“Ah. My head.” He grimaced as he held his head.

“Here, take this recovery potion. It should be of help.” She brought out a vial and fed him the light blue transparent liquid in it. Adrian gulped it down.

“How is the Jungle stroll going?” He looked at her.

“Child, forget about that. You managed to survive the torture of a level 7 circler and even escape. Jungle strolls are nothing. As for the answer, it’s still ongoing with 13 other participants. We don’t want the world to know that a student was kidnapped from the Academy.”

He nodded in response.

“Wait, I will call in Rastia. She has been worried sick for the last three days.” She smiled at him before leaving the room.

A few minutes later, the door opened again as another woman stepped inside. It was Rastia Bell, the principal of the Royal Academy of Nemphis. She shut the door behind her.

“You can drop the act. No one’s nearby.” She said.

Adrian looked at her. “Was I the only one acting?”

“I have lived longer than you.”

“Did you really?” His smile caused her to squint.

“Anyways, your mother gave us a visit.” She looked at his right index and middle finger, and left ring finger- or the spot where they were supposed to be. “With three of your fingers.”

“So?”

She ignored his nonchalance is she continued, “She went straight to the tower masters and demanded to hand over Instructor Nat Hemlin and vice principal Aston Ragov. Or else she would unleash all of her powers right there and then.

“The tower masters did all their best to negotiate but it was futile. A battle almost broke out. Fortunately, the High King interfered as words reached his ears. He convinced the tower masters to hand over the instructor and force the vice principal to resign.”

“All went according to plan then.” He smirked.

“Yes.” A smile appeared on her emotionless face. “Before instructor Hemlin could even speak, his whole upper body was turned into a mist of blood by her enhanced hurricane drill spell. I still remember the tower masters gulping from watching the power behind that strike.”

“It’s bound to happen when you watch such an anomalous hybrid, that of a caster and augmenter, in action.”

“Speaking of that, what are you?” She frowned.

He just smiled in response.

“Fine, keep acting mysterious. But just know that the vice principal resigned. Now, I am the only tower master candidate left.” The grin on her face got wider.

“Why are you acting as if achieved something impossible. This outcome was set in stone from the moment you made the deal.”

“Speaking of the deal, now that everything’s over…” she did not know how to continue.

Adrian lost the smile on his face as he ordered, “Kneel.”

She was on all fours before she even knew it. Following his orders were now like a second nature to her.

“Good girl.” He brought his legs down from the bed and sat cross legged, and started to wiggle the toe of his upper leg.

She understood as she began to crawl towards him. But before she could take that toe into her mouth, Adrian kicked the right of her face. But that did not diminish her goal; she recovered and again went for that toe.

She took his whole toe in and began to lick it and suck it. She tucked her free hair behind her ear.

“Do you think I made that deal to make your daughter my plaything?” His words reached her ears. “No, that was just a bonus. I just saw the potential in you- to be my tool, my bitch. I have cleared your way to become a tower master so that I can make you a sharper tool, a stronger bitch, got it?”

He held her hair and tugged them hard, pulling her to in front of his. “So, what are you?”

“Ah… your… tool.” She was in pain- and pleasure.

“And?”

“Your… ah… bitch.”

“Good girl. Now come, take your reward.”

He pulled her head closer to his. She moaned in pain. But before she could close her mouth, he invaded it with his tongue. She gladly invited it in with her own.

*Click. Click*

The two were locked in a wild kiss for almost a minute. He finally let her hair go. She broke the kiss and hurriedly backed off.

The door opened. Dean Jenkins again entered the room. The first thing that came to her view was the red eyes and flushed face of the principal.

“He is fine now. You are still crying?”

Rastia turned away, avoiding eye contact.

“Ah, I am sorry for interrupting. I will leave after the check-up. You can have him all to yourself then.” She winked.

She then looked at Adrian. “How did I miss that?” She approached him and looked close at his chin.

Rastia panicked.

The dean wiped off the saliva from his chin with her thumb. “You haven’t eaten any sort of solid food for more than a week. What do you want?”

“Are you in the menu?” He winked.

“Cheeky brat! Looks like I was worried for nothing.” She smiled and pulled his nose.

“You are fine for now. You can always call me when you need anything.” She said before leaving the room.

Rastia sighed. “She was there by you for the entire three days. She did not leave for a moment, nor did she sleep. She took care of you as if you were her own son.”

“I know. That’s why I was able to sleep in peace.”

“Can you fulfil her wish?”

“Yes, I can cure her. But ask yourself. Will it make her any happier?”

“I guess you are right.” She sighed. “She is the mother of all orphans anyway.”

“Was it really necessary?” She once again looked at the spots where his fingers were supposed to be.

“What? These?” He brought forth his hands and wiggled all of his fingers, including the bases of the severed ones. “When you kidnap someone and use him to threat or blackmail someone else, you should send some body parts as gift, shouldn’t you?”

“So, you cut them off?” She frowned.

“Of course not, why would I cut them when I have these?” He grinned and pointed at his own white teeth with his non-existent right index finger.

“You bit them off!?” She felt a chill running down her spine.

“Oh!” Adrian realised his mistake and switched hands to point at his sharp teeth.

“Ok, let’s leave that for now. Did you really not sleep, eat and drink for two whole weeks?”

“Yes, I hit two birds with one stone.”

“Pardon?” She squinted.

“I always wanted to test the limit of a human body. So, why not use myself as a guinea pig?”

“You are insane! Did anyone ever tell you that?”

“Nope, you are the first. Everyone else who witnessed my true self were already dead before they could. Oh, instructor Hastings is an exception but he never had the nerves to say that to my face.” He shrugged and replied casually.

She sighed. “Why did you have to go so far? Your fingers should have been enough to put the final nail in the coffin.”

“Hmm, let’s see.” He began to rub his chin. “I am sure the vice principal was infuriated. He must have shouted that it was a scheme by you and me; the fingers were fake and the most convincing logic- the one who got the most out of this incident is you.”

“Yes, he did it. But what difference did it make? He resigned anyway.”

“And you boast that you lived longer than me.” He mocked.

“Spit it out.”

“Even though none of the listeners believed his excuse completely, a seed of doubt was planted in their minds; they started to grow suspicious. Even though it won’t obstruct your path to being a tower master, these seeds of doubt will bite you in the future when someone wants to go against you. But now? I am sure everyone- the tower masters, the instructors and even the High King visited me, right?”

“Yes, they did.” She gasped and widened her eyes in realisation. “How can a 17 year old go that far for a scheme? He was surely kidnapped by another force.”

“Looks like you are not that dumb after all.”

She just smiled in response.

“Oh, and I am missing someone. Call her to visit, will you?”