I instantly sat up due to the pain on my face. It felt like someone had mercilessly punched me while I was asleep.
After thoroughly checking my bedroom and study, I couldn't find anything or anyone and just decided to go and wash up. It was a bright and sunny. I could see part of the garden from my window, as well as the ominous fog lurking in the distance.
I initially wondered if the pain was a mistake, but a quick look at the mirror showed a red, fist-like mark on my cheek. Someone had deliberately, and very strongly, struck me on the face. After washing up, I dressed up and donned my customary robe laden with trinkets and charms.
I continued to massage my bruised cheek as I made my way to the kitchen. The smell of sizzling bacon, fried eggs, and butter toast was already wafting through the corridor. Perhaps due to the weird circumstances and location that I was in, the smells of breakfast food gave me a baffling sense of normalcy and comfort.
Everyone was already there. Jorum was busy laying food on the table while Janna was pouring hot water into four coffee mugs. Leroy seemed the most carefree, as he was nonchalantly flipping through a copy of The Tweeting Bird, a gossip newspaper which was making its rounds in the Empire. All of them looked up when I entered. The twins smiled sympathetically whereas Leroy's face widened into a cheeky grin.
"Good morning. Thanks." I sat down next to Jorum as placed a plate of food in front f me. He nodded back and tucked into his meal enthusiastically. After nodding her greetings and passing me some tea, Janna started methodically slicing her bacon, eggs and toast into bite-sized pieces.
"G'morning sweetpea," Leroy said. "I like the tattoo on your face, it's very striking." He giggled at his own pun.
"I'm not sure what happened, to be honest," I said after taking a sip. "But I suppose you have some clues."
"Leroy's idea of a practical joke and hazing ritual," Janna replied flatly. Her huskiness from yesterday was gone, and was now replaced with a pleasantly silky and soft-spoken voice. "It's from the bangle's alarm function. Don't worry, I will help you change it later."
Jorum started signing something to me. I tilted my head and looked at Janna for help.
"We had a dragon stay overnight once. He couldn't polymorph so we had to put the bangle on his tail. The next morning he blew up several walls when he woke up," Janna interpreted for me.
"That was fun," Leroy laughed. "We should do it again someday."
"Absolutely not." Both Jorum and Janna stared at Leroy. "We had to spend three weeks fixing everything, especially all of the broken wards and barriers." Jorum nodded his agreement. Leroy just shrugged and started chewing on his toast.
"You have... dragons, as visitors?" I asked in surprise.
"Not always, but frequent enough," Leroy answered. "Moffy does come every now and then for help since he's teething. The tooth you saw yesterday was his."
I wanted to ask more questions, but Jorum indicated for me to wait until we finished eating. The rest of the meal was filled with idle chatter.
After we finished eating, Jorum offered to help clean up, leaving Leroy, Janna and I to continue talking on the table.
"Let's start the proper introduction," Leroy said and put away the newspaper. "This place is actually older than the University. Do mind that we are not under the University, or the Empire for that matter, but more of an independent facility and association of sorts. I am both the owner and head researcher. Janna and Jorum also do their own research whilst helping out around the place. I generally let everyone do their own thing here, as long as they pitch in when necessary."
"But what are you actually doing here?"
"A lot, actually. We mainly help the Empire monitor its borders along the Nacrux Range, as well as help safeguard the University look after some exotic and nearly-extinct magical specimens. We also monitor any dimensional changes, troubleshoot magic and sorcery-related inquiries, are intermediaries between the Empire or University for certain parties, host any researchers who need to work in special environments, and so on." Leroy ticked off his fingers every time he listed an item.
"In short, we do many, many things. Like a jack of all trades, master of all kind of situation. Coffee this time, please." Leroy finished his drink and gestured for Jorum to fill his mug. "I am pretty sure you can pick up and apply some useful skills while you're staying with us, and you will eventually understand more of what we do. For now, I will let Janna and Jorum will show you the ropes, just let me know what exactly you would like to pursue here in a few days time. Any questions?"
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"Yes, a lot actually. What am I supposed to do here? Does the University knows of my circumstances? What's my pay going to be? Am I able to leave this place when I want to? Are there any house rules I should take note of?"
"One by one, boy. You will mainly be assisting Janna, but from time to time Jorum or I will need your help. I also informed the University and they are alright with the arrangements. Your pay will be 2,000 Ducals per month, but it will be increased based on your performance."
"As for whether you can leave this place, you certainly can once you fulfill several... conditions. Janna will brief you on that and the house rules later." Leroy stood up and got ready to leave.
"I sincerely hope you appreciate your time here, Arang. While I can't promise it to be rewarding, it will most certainly be fulfilling," Leroy smiled and shook hands with me. "Janna, I'll leave the rest to you. See you at dinner!"
Jorum waved goodbye and left shortly after Leroy. I finished my coffee and helped Janna wash her mug as well.
"Let's go to the training room." Janna said.
Unlike the rest of the mansion, the training room was surprisingly modern and sterile. Calling it a room was a stretch since it was nearly the size of an auditorium. The walls were covered large white tiles with silvery metal running between and through them, the floor was also covered in a black mat that felt comfortable on one's bare feet. One half of the room contained exercise equipment, real weapons, dummies made from various materials, protective gear, even an octagon stage in the center. The other half was cordoned off with an opaque glass wall, but I could see scripts and patterns etched into the glass as well as on the tile walls.
Janna handed me some exercise gear and protective equipment to change into and walked away. Looking into the mirror as I changed showed that years of studying and staying up late had taken its toll. My original athletic figure was now covered under a layer, or layers, of fat. I wasn't chubby, but might be getting there.
Unlike me, Janna was fit, incredibly fit. My original impression of her as a demure lady changed when I saw her in sports attire. She was well-built, not with vanity muscles, but wiry ones that were the result of daily training and use. She gave me a brief look and gestured for me to follow her to the cordoned-off section.
"I am sure you've realised, but this place is pretty unusual," Janna begin. That's an understatement. "Which is why being good at fighting, or at least good enough to not get yourself killed is very important."
I raised my hand. "Will I need to be prepared to get beat up or killed everyday or something?"
"Gods, no." Janna laughed. "This isn't an army camp. But we do need to fend off unwelcome and dangerous guests or occupants occasionally. One of our jobs, after all, is to be zookeepers for several highly intelligent and extremely dangerous animals. Not all of them are cuddly puppies."
"Then what's the minimum or maximum benchmark?"
"Let's see... being able to defend yourself against a dragon for several minutes, at least? The best case would be being able to fight Leroy to a draw. Don't worry too much," Janna reassured me when she saw me shrink back. "I am not letting you fight a dragon anytime soon, but we'll get you there eventually. Have you fought or learned martial arts before, though?"
I nodded.
"Are you good at it?"
I shook my head vigorously.
"Okay. Then I will go easy on you." I wanted to tell Janna she could go for it, but quickly realized that it's a terrible idea. Swallowing my manly ego, I took up a fighting stance and widened my feet apart.
"Ready, three, two, one, now." Janna chanted swiftly and instantly shot a spell at my legs. I hastily conjured up a shield which managed to block her spell but the impact still blew me back.
As I flew through the air, I conjured another shield behind me and managed to land on it with my feet. Using the shield as a platform, I launched myself mid air and hurled several fireballs from a distance. Unlike my earlier fumbling attempts at self-defense, Janna effortlessly waved her hands, misdirecting my fireballs and causing them to veer away. She took the opportunity when I was leaping down to conjure a strong wind, causing me to stagger and fall.
I fell on the side of my face. My pain was muffled thanks to the protective equipment. Janna meanwhile was dashing forward, her speed propelled by strong winds behind her. She arrived on top of me and slammed her fist down, nearly grazing the side of my face.
Crack!
A slight crack formed on the floor. I managed to roll away and dodge. Thankfully my dormant martial arts instincts kicked in, as I used my legs to grapple and topple her. I was getting ready to wrestle her onto the ground, but she simply stomped her foot just before she fell. A surging wave from the floor with her foot as the epicenter pushed both of us up, causing me to lose my leverage and her to jump away.
As I scrambled to get up, Janna immediately stomped the floor again, but this time she remained firmly grounded whereas I was thrown into the air. She caused a strong wind to blow towards me again, slamming me into the wall behind me. Even though I wasn't severely injured (I hoped), I was still briefly knocked out and dazed. Without missing a beat, Janna conjured a sharp piece of rock and threw it towards me. The rock cut the cheek of my helmet and planted itself firmly onto the wall.
I flopped onto the ground like a dead fish. While I didn't feel anything broken, I was damn sure that I would be a beautiful patchwork of black and blue the next day.
"Are you okay?" Janna rushed forward and stood over me with a look of concern. If it wasn't for her ferociously beating me up earlier, I would be fooled by her shimmering blue eyes into thinking she was a harmless girl.
"What, part, of it, were you, going easy?" I complained, wincing as I sat up. Janna shrugged.
"Well, you didn't die right? You'll need to really work hard though." Janna giggled and held out an arm. Despite rolling my eyes, I accepted her arm and pulled myself up.