Chapter 18 The Racist

‘Magic class–3T Psion, warrior.’

What is a Psion? It must be good if it was a big deal for the noble girl. I am guessing it is something to do with mental magic. I’ll ask Meira later. I’m sure she would know. Evernya thought, feeling almost anti-climactic at the result.

Upon diverting her attention from the screen, she froze. Why is everyone staring at me!

Evernya rushed to the mana grade test, hoping to get it over with and quickly escape the spotlight. The tester for the mana grade test was a man who appeared to be in his late 30s or early 40s. Evernya caught a sneer plastered on the man’s face, but she ignored it in favor of expediting the process. Evernya displayed her wristband to the tester before approaching the appraisal orb.

“Firmly press the wristbanded hand onto the orb and push mana into it until it turns green. I’m sure someone like you can handle at least that much.” The man instructed in a condescending tone.

Alarm bells went off in Evernya’s head, but she followed the instructions. She pressed her hand to the orb, feeling uncomfortable with over a thousand pairs of eyes watching her every move. However, after five minutes, the orb remained gray, confusing Evernya. Why is it taking so long? Everyone else took at most a minute.

Evernya turned her attention back to the smirking tester for clarification. “Why isn’t the orb turning green?” Evernya questioned.

With a shrug, the man responded, “I don’t know, maybe because you’re using an appraisal orb meant to test human mages.” The man replied, using the same condescending tone he used before.

Refusing to let the orb beat her, she pushed mana into the orb at a higher rate. After a few minutes of this, the orb still refused to turn green, forcing her to re-double her efforts. Evernya could feel her mana veins stressing themselves, but she refused to give in. Another minute later, her legs trembled from the sudden mana expenditure.

Finally, after ten minutes, the stubborn orb turned green. Evernya peered up at the screen, only to find it blank. Her gaze shot back to the examiner, who was smiling widely. The warning bells in her head rang louder as the feeling of unease grew.

“Bye-bye, Kitty,” the examiner whispered to Evernya.

A moment later, pain dwarfing even mana isolation room inflicted itself upon Evernya’s body. She tried to throw the orb away, but to her horror, the orb remained glued to her hand. Within a second, her wristband exploded off her wrist, unable to withstand the abuse. Her legs gave out, forcing her to her knees as her body spasmed. She tried her best to keep herself from screaming in pain, refusing to give him the satisfaction. Tears flowed freely from her pain-filled eyes, but she did not utter a sound.

After several seconds, people finally notice something was wrong, causing several nearby staff to gather. The gym descended into stunned silence, as staff rushed toward the girl now lying curled up on the floor. Through all the turmoil, the examiner stood a few meters away with an expression of satisfaction.

In a panic, Meira, along with Dr. Fisher, sprinted toward Evernya, surrounded by dozens of people trying to render aid. When Meira finally arrived at Evernya’s side, she caught the smug tester watching the scene. In an instant, she flew into a rage. With air magic, Meira swatted the examiner away like a fly.

Once the culprit vacated from her sight, Meira kneeled next to her suffering kitten. She tried to remove the orb from Evernya’s hand, but it refused to budge. Meira panicked, taking in the rapidly deteriorating health of her kitten. Fortunately, she wasn’t yet to the mummified state she was in when they first met, but Evernya was showing substantial weight loss. Meira scooped her kitten into her arms, rushing her toward the much slower Dr. Fisher, who was still dozens of meters away.

A few seconds later, she gently set her kitten down on the floor in front of Dr. Fisher, who dropped to a knee to perform health scans with his magic. Dr. Fisher’s expression became graver with each scan he performed.

Unable to move her convulsing body, all Evernya could do was stare into Meira’s eyes. Meira’s heart ached, taking in the desperate, pain-filled eyes of her rapidly withering kitten.

After over a minute of tormenting her, the orb finally rolled out of Evernya’s emaciated hand. With it gone, the convulsions stopped. Meira breathed a sigh of relief as her kitten fell into painless unconsciousness. This relief was short-lived as Evernya began to deteriorate at the expedited pace, causing Dr. Fisher to pale.

“We need to get her to the hospital now!” shouted Dr. Fisher in panic.

“What’s wrong!?” Begged Meira, desperate for information on her kitten’s condition.

“She ruptured three-quarters of her mana veins and has several instabilities on her mana core!” Reported Dr. Fisher loudly.

Upon hearing the bleak diagnosis, the atmosphere of the surrounding crowd became somber. Several members of the crowd prayed to some unknown deity. Meira scooped up her limp, emaciated kitten before rushing to the emergency exit twenty meters to her left, followed by Dr. Fisher.

She only covered half that distance before someone blocked her path. “I want this filthy elf arrested for assaulting me!” demanded the enraged examiner, pointing at Meira.

Meira unleashed the full force of her mana aura. A tornado formed around Meira as she walked toward the examiner with an expression of pure hatred.

“How dare you hurt my kitten! I want you arrested for sabotaging the mage’s test and attempted murder along with anything else I can think of once my kitten safe!” Roared Meira.

The examiner held his ground, peering down his nose while proclaiming, “With what evidence! The orb malfunctioned from a filthy animal taking a test meant for human mages! Besides, who would believe you a vile elf over me, a dignified Magus?”

The polite middle-aged man who was the examiner for Evernya’s Magic class test picked up the orb. He examined the orb with a critical eye before a hard expression overtook features. He turned to a nearby security member. “Security detain Mr. Hughes on charges of sabotaging a Mage’s Test!”

Without hesitation, security surrounded Mr. Hughes, securing his wrists behind his back with mana suppressing shackles before dragging the struggling man away. “I’ll make you will pay for this! Especially you filthy animals!” Vowed Mr. Hughes as security carried him away.

Now free of obstructions, Meira sprinted toward the emergency exit carrying Evernya, with Dr. Fisher following close behind. She blasted the door open with air magic, causing an alarm to sound. Meira’s shoulders slumped in relief when she spotted an ambulance waiting for them with a stretcher prepared. Meira rushed to the waiting EMTs.

After gently placing Evernya on the stretcher, Meira demanded, “Where’s the nearest mana tank!”

“Ma’am, she needs a hospital, not a mana tank.” one of the EMTs asserted upon taking in Evernya’s emaciated appearance.

Dr. Fisher arrived a moment later, flashing his credentials before stating, “With this girl’s condition, the hospital won’t help her unless it has a mana tank. She needs mana immersion, or she will die.”

The other EMT poked on his tablet before reporting, “The nearest hospital has a mana tank they use for mana submersion therapy.”

“Is this tank connected to a lay line?” The panic-stricken elf inquired.

“Yes, it is.” Responded one of the EMTs as the other EMT run scanned Evernya.

The moment the EMT finished her scan, she exclaimed, “What did this to her! She has over seventy percent of her mana veins ruptured along with moderate damage to her mana core!”

Dr. Fisher ushered them into the back of the ambulance before answering, “An examiner sabotaged her mana grade test for racist reasons.”

A sympathetic expression flashed across both EMTs’ faces with one remarking, “Poor girl, she must’ve been in agony. What monster could subject someone to that kind of torment?”

Silent till now as she fussed over her kitten, Meira seethed, “A monster who better hope he doesn’t meet me again once Evernya is safe!”

Less than a minute later, the ambulance was speeding down the road toward the hospital with its sirens blaring.

Clumps of Evernya’s hair fell onto the stretcher, prompting Meira to order, voice cracking with emotion. “Call ahead to make sure the mana tank is available. My kitten doesn’t have much time!”

“We need to get permission from the chief physician of the hospital to use the mana tank. However, I’m not sure we can get permission on such short notice,” responded an EMT.

Meira’s face steeled at the response, causing everyone to shiver by her presence alone as she commanded, “I don’t care if we have permission or not. My kitten is getting in that mana tank, even if I have to force my way through. Tell them Meira requests use of the mana tank for a life or death situation.”

Unable to understand the urgency, one of the EMTs questioned, “I don’t understand. The mana tank is used to help rehab mages with severe mana vein or mana core injuries. Which she has and then some, but how is that life or death?”

Dr. Fisher intervened before Meira throttled the poor EMT, explaining, “Evernya is unique. I won’t get into specifics, but she requires mana to function. With the extensive injuries to her mana veins, mana cannot circulate through her body, causing her body to shut down. We hope the mana tank can act as life-support while her body heals. At the current rate of deterioration, I estimate she has at most ten minutes left.”

Upon hearing the grim news, the ambulance driver pushed the accelerator further to the floor. One of the other EMTs pulled out her phone, dialing the hospital. When she mentioned Meira needed the mana tank, her call got forwarded to the chief physician and Dean of DIOM medical.

“Ma’am, I have a patient in transit requiring immediate access to your mana tank.” The EMT respectfully requested.

There was a pause on the other end before a female voice responded, “how immediate? I have a VIP undergoing mana immersion therapy for the next three hours.”

With her sensitive ears, Meira heard, prompting her to snatch the cell phone from the EMT’s hand. “Who am I speaking to?” Meira inquired.

“Dr. Elizabeth Chapman, chief physician and Dean of DIOM medical.” A female voice responded professionally.

Recognition flashed across Meira’s face, causing her tone to soften. “Oh, Lizzie, you’re the head of DIOM medical now?”

A rather unprofessional squeal sounded through the phone before Elizabeth exclaimed, “Meira! It’s been so long! How are you doing?”

Meira’s tone saddened as she responded. “I’ve been better. Unfortunately, this is not a social call. I need to use your mana tank in less than five minutes, or young women under my care will die. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’ll explain everything in person once I have her in the tank and stable.”

Elizabeth fell silent for a few moments before inquiring, “Is there any way we can stabilize her for a few hours?”

Desperation leaked into Meira’s voice as she responded, “We don’t think so. Truthfully, we don’t even know if the mana tank is enough to stabilize her. We are hoping the mana tank can support her body while it heals. She has less than ten minutes left until her body shuts down. Is this person going to die if we remove him or her from the mana tank?”

“No, he will not. Honestly, he doesn’t need mana submersion therapy. The problem is, he donated a lot of money to the hospital and college, so we cannot afford to offend him.” Elizabeth admitted.

“Just tell him it was me. I will take the blame.” Suggested Meira, causing a momentary pause on the other end before Elizabeth responded.

“Okay, I will do it, but you better explain everything to me.” Elizabeth insisted in an exhausted tone.

Meira’s face brightened as she exclaimed, “Thank you, Lizzie! We will arrive in two minutes.”

After hanging up, Meira handed the cell phone back to the EMT before returning her full attention to her deteriorating kitten.