House of Fools

Aric stood in the middle of his room as the faint light of dawn crept into the space. The shadows cast by the dusty furniture felt oppressive in the silence.

He felt weak just from standing alone. It was hard for him to get used to this illness-ridden state when his more capable self felt like it was just moments ago and not a life time away. Although he had still been an average human, he was quite strong for one.

However, now he was far from that, and as he looked down at his frail limbs, he felt a surge of frustration shoot through him. Regardless, he was determined to push through.

"Okay, I can do this," Aric muttered to himself. The system guide floated to the side, watching as he began the jump squats.

Although this was simple calisthenics meant to strengthen his body, they felt far more difficult than that. Each time Aric hopped into the air, a glaring headache would attack him, as though his brain was bouncing around in his skull.

Yet, this alone was far from enough to stop the relentless prince as he continued with the jumps, his face contorting in pain each time he landed, only for him to squat and launch himself off the ground again quickly.

A grueling quarter-hour had passed. The floor beneath Aric didn't have drops of sweat but blood that dripped from his nose.

"How many left?" Aric asked through breaths of exhaustion.

"Seventeen," the system guide replied from not too far away.

Aric gritted his teeth and continued.

Hours passed. Aric now lay on the floor, his body drenched in sweat. Each exercise was painful; every push-up, every sit-up felt like climbing a mountain. His vision would blur, and his muscles would scream in protest, while the guide's cold voice counted his repetitions without any sign of concern.

Aric fainted and awoke multiple times throughout his attempts. However, he refused to give up, pushing his body to the absolute limit. Each time he fell, he dragged himself back up, memories of the humiliation and betrayal he suffered fueling him.

He could not fail again.

"Is it done?" Aric asked, sprawled across the floor, barely conscious.

"Yes, the sub-quest has been completed successfully," the guide confirmed.

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[+1 STR] 

[+1 AGI] 

[+1 EDU]

---

As Aric lay on the floor, he knew he could not go on like this. What could he do if even basic exercise was this difficult? Futhermore he knew just exercise could not make him recover from his illness. He needed something more—he needed a healer.

Although getting one who was capable was far harder than it seemed, since Aric was young, many healers had attempted to treat his illness, and every one of them ended up failing. However, he remembered one person, one he was certain would succeed.

Serina Marceli, the prodigy mage, known as the youngest 5th-class healing mage—well, that's what she was currently. By the time of Aric's death, he had heard she had become a 7th-class mage.

He could still remember the day she had decided to assess his condition. He had been humiliated in front of her, and perhaps for other reasons as well, she had decided he wasn't worth the effort of healing.

"If the estate ambush was yesterday…" Aric began to put the dates together. "Then it's just a couple of days till she comes."

Aric sat up from the floor, and although he was exhausted, he could feel a considerable improvement in his body. Although slight, he was stronger, more agile.

He then managed to reach his washroom, cleaning up and changing as he prepared to head out.

Aric stepped out of his room, carrying with him his staff that aided his walking. Entering the hallway, he could still smell the blood from the previous night, almost hearing the struggles of his dying caretakers as well. However, the hallway had been cleaned of the incident—not a single stain of red was left.

Aric moved across the dark carpet of the hall and eventually made it to one of two staircases that curved down towards the foyer. With each step he took, the aged wood creaked and groaned beneath his feet.

As Aric came down, he spotted five men along with a single young lady who had been waiting for him down at the foyer. Aric had expected them.

"How can I help you?" Aric asked as he came down the stairs, prompting them all to turn to him.

The girl was the first to answer. She had brown hair that was packed atop her head and dark hazel eyes.

"I was sent by the third prince. I am your new caretaker."

"Ah, is that so?" Aric turned to her as he reached the end of the stairs. "You are aware of what happened to the previous ones. Are you not fearful you might meet the same fate?" Aric's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the young lady.

"That's why we're here. We were sent to secure this place and make sure something like that doesn't happen again," one of the guards wearing a meager attempt at armor said.

"Hmm, I see" Aric raised a brow. "That's good, then." He continued walking past them.

"I'm going out for a walk."

"Hey," the muscular and bald one among the guards called out. "Make sure you're back quickly, Aric. If anything happens to you, we will be responsible."

Aric stopped in his tracks, his grip on his staff tightening slightly.

"Aric?" He turned to the guard. "I'm assuming you meant Prince Aric, right?"

The bald guard smiled mischievously before responding.

"I think I know what I said, Aric."

"You think, huh?" Aric's lips curled slightly before he turned around and headed towards the door.

"I won't be long," he announced before exiting the large manor.