Incongruent Events (2)

Human nature is not inherently evil, but is shaped by the world around it.

Unfortunately, even those who were supposed to follow an ethical and moral code were not exempt from this universal rule.

Led by an insatiable lust for power, they acted like pests.

Who, you might ask? The nobles.

As monsters, limits seemed unrealistic to their corrupted hearts.

Exploiting the people with excessive taxes, causing conflicts and shedding innocent blood in search of more wealth and power.

It was common knowledge that once a weak-minded person committed an evil act, there was no going back.

But what would the creator of that phrase say when witnessing an entirely corrupt kingdom?

Administered by dirty hands, the kingdom of Juno was in decline, wounded like a stabbed heart, and it needed heroes willing to change things.

Good heroes who fought for a fair cause. Someone to overthrow the ineffective system that dominated the lands of Juno.

"Down with the nobles!"

"Cut taxes!"

"Improve working conditions!"

Many citizens felt dissatisfied with the social and economic inequality after the war, and felt like slaves in the palms of the wealthy elite.

The workers made their requests loud, almost as if about to start a revolution.

However, with the new laws passed by the King, some rich people began to help those most in need, posing as (fake) heroes.

This was done in a hurry to maintain the perfect image of the Capital before other nations of the Continent, without running the risk of harming tourism and commercial relations.

Thereupon, under the table, people still suffered a lot.

''I'm going to change your life! I swear!''

In the midst of such confusion, Auriel Briar, a young woman with potential, dreamed of becoming a great adventurer and was the adopted daughter of a commoner suburban family.

Her loving, hardworking parents, Lauren and Karen Briar, were low-class adventurers, struggling daily to provide for their family.

And although they lived in the oppression of the government that disadvantaged the people, they found happiness in the little things.

'I must be grateful for these challenges, I will overcome them!', thought Auriel.

Because of how she was raised, Auriel believed that her difficulties led her to unimaginable accomplishments, such as being one of the most sought after by the most renowned academy on the Continent.

However, upon arriving at the Academy, Auriel realized that she knew little about the world other than the nobles and heroes of the Kingdom who had saved the continent from a crisis.

She had been taught about the world after adoption by the Briars, but just enough to get by.

Prior to that, she had endured countless hardships, being malnourished and begging in the streets, escaping death by luck.

Even so, why was she thinking about all that so suddenly?

First of all, the situation unfolding at that very moment reminded her of when she was found by her parents in an alley, barely alive.

Auriel's body was exhausted, bruised and bloody from the adversaries' punches. Her swollen lips and throbbing head made her feel weak and helpless.

Her efforts seemed to have failed. She felt useless.

What was the use of being essentially intelligent? What good was having an innate ability if she couldn't use it to defend herself?

And why did those people hate her so much? Had she done something wrong?

Like that, little by little, without her realizing it, hatred and bitterness engulfed her chest more and more.

"This bitch doesn't seem to know where she is. Tsk. Teach her some manners, Clarence."

One of the girls in the hallway ordered one of the bullies, pointing at Clarence, who lunged with a menacing punch at his target.

''Well, this is going to be fun.''

Auriel closed her eyelids, waiting for the impact, but no matter how much time passed, it never came.

Bewildered, she cautiously opened her eyes, surprised that she hadn't been hit.

''I tolerate girls hitting girls, but this is too much."

Clarence's fist had been grabbed in midair, milliseconds from hitting her face.

A figure, dressed in the Regular Class uniform, had suddenly gotten between her and the group of high-born bullies.

Scanning the others there from head to toe, he exuded a menacing presence that was at odds with being assigned the Regular Class.

''U-ugh! Let go!'', cried Clarence, but the student did not move.

Writhing in pain, the bully dropped to his knees on the marble floor.

''Besides, you piece of shit, hitting a woman is a crime. Didn't you know it?''

''W-what hell you're talking about? Ugh!''

''Law enforcement? These kids these days, tsk tsk.''

The figure clicked its tongue, acting as if it were an old man.

Approaching without making a sound, the other boy, Terry, threw a punch towards the opponent who was defending Auriel.

''You're freaking slow, huh?''

Declaring this with no expression on his face, Auriel's protector took a step to the side, dodging it without much effort as he demonstrated unusual agility.

Right after, putting a foot in front of the boy, with a reaction time beyond human capabilities, he tripped Terry.

''Son of a harlot! This is cheating!'', the patrician stated.

Auriel's defender kicked Terry's leg, making him grunt in pain and preventing him from getting up quickly.

''Nah. You are just stupid to think I'd fight with honor. I don't care about chivalry honor shit.''

Shrugging, the Regular Class student snapped back.

He, then, made Terry pass out with a clean blow to the oppressor's neck. A small crack formed in the ground from the shock caused by the young man's action.

At the same moment, before Auriel's eyes, the person who defended her raised another hand, staring intently at the people around him.

His fist began to glow with a strange power. It was dark green, contrasting with the violent red of the blood on the walls and pillars.

''Now, what is that?''

The other girls, none of them specialized in combat, didn't dare to do anything against the figure, just resigning themselves to watch it all.

''Maybe magic? Or his innate ability?''

As the nearest one, Auriel could feel it: it was evident that it wasn't electricity or some other magical attribute, but pure energy. Mana in its primal state.

Without wasting any more time, he took aim and attacked Clarence, who had just gotten to his feet, knocking him away with a mighty blow.

BAAAM!

Clarence was thrown a great distance as his body came into contact with the figure's attack.

Like a paper sheet, he flew, causing everyone to open their mouths in shock.

CRASH!

Seconds after, with a tremendous crash, the boy hit a wall, blowing a hole in it and causing debris to explode upwards on the opposite side.

Motionless, he fell, desperately struggling to breathe.

''What?''

''What the hell?!''

''Clarence!''

Their eyes went from the bloodied figure of Clarence, who was fighting to stay alive, and then back to the Regular Class student.

''Hang on! Now that I see it… you are that one! The gangster, Rodiel Dashner!''

Looking down at the tips of his callused fists, the young man bit his lip.

''Yeah, I should have held back more... Now I'm fucked.''

Several footsteps could be heard approaching in the distance.

Auriel's protector cold face twisted into a worried expression. He seemed to grimace as he discreetly took a step back.

''Don't you dare run away before assuming what you've done!''

''Come back here and pay for Clarence's hospital bills!''

''Are you forgetting about Terry?''

''O-Of course! Terrence must also be cured!''

Ignoring the complaints from the haughty group of nobles, Rodiel turned to Auriel.

The teenagers, still startled, backed away as he ran towards her.

''Well...''

''Well...?'' One of the snobby girls mirrored what he said.

''Bye.''

Picking Auriel up off the ground without a hitch, he turned in the opposite direction down the hall and ran like lightning.

'Is this the kind of hero that people were talking about so much?… so elegant'

Over Rodiel's arms, feeling her heart race fervently in a mysterious way, Auriel's face turned bright red.

And while the girl melted into unknown feelings, Rodiel could only think of one thing:

'How am I going to pay for this damage?'

****

This shitty world is full of unbearable stereotypes.

From the poor who are exploited by the rich, to the damn snooty nobles who like to rub their respective rankings and wealth in the face of those who lack something.

Stopping to think about this sort of thing, it irritated me to the core to know that I, too, was included in some niche that was invisible to my eyes and ears.

Nevertheless, that didn't matter now.

The fact was, a bloody ''generic asshole'' had beaten up a girl just a few-feet-away from me.

These animalistic wretches had moved through the darkest corridors, hiding to carry out their loathsome plans of agression. It was one thing to happen away from me, it was another thing to do it literally next to me and expect me not to act.

And that brought me to the ocasion that I was trapped now.

"Aack!"

I found myself in my room, kneeling before a battered girl, carefully tending to her numerous injuries.

Nonetheless, of course, this wasn't just any girl -- this was Auriel Briar, the infamous villain of the game.

"Hang in there," I reassured her, trying to soothe her pain. "We're almost finished."

Auriel was sitting in a chair, holding a glass of water in her palpitating hands.

I watched her carefully, noting her curious gaze as she explored my minimalist room.

''This place is pretty eccentric, isn't it?'', I commented.

Auriel gave a muffled chuckle. ''Actually, it looks a lot like mine, so it's not strange or eccentric to me,'' she added.

Living with Mael hadn't been one of the easiest things in the world. Thank goodness I was already used to living with little to nothing.

But perhaps, from other people's perspectives, a library was more charming than my room.

I had spent almost nothing on decorations or furniture. It was a stroke of luck that my first visit hadn't said anything bad about the place.

A wooden desk stood a few feet from the bed, which was on the opposite side of the front door.

Precisely stacked and neat books, classics and categorical novels, were the room's only decoration, making it feel empty and lifeless.

"I noticed that you have a lot of books here. Do you like reading?"

I glanced at her.

"Yes, I kinda like reading. I think books have a way of taking you to other worlds and experiencing different lives without leaving your own. Plus, unlike boring people, knowledge is always valuable, right?"

Auriel nodded, her eyes flickering over the titles on the shelves.

"I used to read a lot too. It was one of the few things that made me forget about my problems for a while."

There was a hint of sadness in her voice that made me want to know more, but I decided to let it go.

"Maybe we can exchange book recommendations sometime," I offered trying to distract her from the situation.

"I would truly appreciate that."

She went silent for a second.

And, as I considered redoing my quarters, suddenly the girl interrupted my thoughts with a question.

''Anyway, do you think that I'll---''

I interfered her with a hand gesture, offering confidence:

"You're going to be fine," I clarified, cutting of her disturbances. "It may not look like it, but I'm quite skilled at tending to contusions."

I pushed my shirt back a little and showed the layers of bandages on my arms.

Auriel took another sip of water while I examined her wounds and cleaned up as needed.

''Thank you,'' she expressed, giving me a weak smile.

I felt a weird tightness fraying in my heart.

Compared to the person I thought I knew through the game, this girl was too innocent, huh?

Besides, despite my reassurances and promises, a part of me was still apprehensive about the situation.

Truthfully, I desperately wanted to know healing magic, but the old-man never taught me it at all.

He kept reciting to me his concepts about "being a true warrior" instead of teaching me skills that would come in handy at times like this.

That damn old bastard...!

''Any problem there? Is it something I should know?''

I shook my head, focusing back on Auriel, and noticed that her hands were shaking as I tended to her wounds.

''No. And don't worry, your injuries aren't serious.''

I said, trying to calm her anxiety.

Getting closer, I smoothed her forehead with cotton, sucking the blood from the scratches.

Her hot, thin breath hit my face as I did so.

''But you should seek expert help from the nursing staff tomorrow. Got it?''

''R-right...''

She nodded, looking away from me; her face turning completely red with embarrassment.

Finishing cleaning up the blood, I got up and nimbly crossed the room.

Not long after, I came back, bringing some clean bandages I had saved for emergencies, and began to tie up her with care and patience.

I was sweating, working on her wounds with the few vague memories of the medical classes I'd taken in my past life.

Honestly, I was worried -- the tremors in her hands kept me from forgetting how vulnerable she was.

And, although her lesions weren't fatal, something worse could happen to her, like a coma.

That is, the bruises on the side of her head were the most severe ones --- it was just straight out lucky she hadn't had a seizure.

Even though the in-game's ''Auriel Briar'' was a utter sociopath with disturbing behaviors, considering everything that had happened to her now, I just wanted the girl to recover healthily.

At first, that injured girl in front of me was no longer just a character card or illustration.

She was a flesh and blood person, and I would do what I could to help her.

''Wherefore, just rest a little, and soon you'll be fine.''