"… Seventeen… eighteen… nineteen… twenty."

Konan's hand dropped and the water force he created dropped as well. It was the third time he counted to twenty whilst holding a water force around his prey's head with his face completely submerged in the water__ water he had drawn from the sewage close to them, which he hadn't been bothered to clean out first.

"Weak bodies can't handle great powers. You still have a weak body."

Konan had a low, rough voice that matched his rough exterior. He was a level two mage, a Summoner. One that was feared by other level two and one mages and even some level three. Summoners could draw water from any source, even the tiniest drop of water. He had been the first in their ranks to attain a level two badge and, irrespective of his inability to advance for years, he was still feared because of his intimidating exterior.

Games like the one he played now with his prey were fun for him. It gave him the opportunity to exert fear into the minds of mages he considered inferior to him.

"Tk tk tk…" the sound of his disappointment rang as he shook his head while examining the boy who was held in place by his companions.

"We'll have to do it again."

He gestured at his companions, who straightened the boy and Konan's water hold went up again.

Konan began counting. "One… two… three…"

Sora could not hear a thing. In addition to the physical effort to get out of the water hold around his head, followed by the struggle to breathe, there was constant pain, a burning sensation as water entered his lungs. He struggled to break free, but the mages who held him in place were strong. Finally, he gave up struggling and waited.

It always had an end.

"Eighteen…nineteen…twenty. Drop him."

Sora, who had been held leg up by Konan's companions—Marce and Dai, fell to the ground with his head making contact with the ground first, thereby causing a deep cut on his forehead. He laid on the ground and curled into a cradle position without letting out a cry.

He coughed until his airways were clear of water, but they didn't stop burning.

Konan crouched beside Sora's body. "You know, all I do is to help you, right?"

Dai snickered. "I'm sure he knows. How else is he supposed to force his stupid energy out?"

Konan stood up, towering over Sora's body. "I do this for you Sora, you are too weak for a mage's energy. That's why you can't harness it. You should be grateful I take time out to help you."

He faced Marce with a smirk on his chin; "I'm really generous, aren't I?"

"Simply the best." Marce replied with a smile.

Sora didn't respond, instead he continued counting in his head… 129, 130, 131, 132.

"You failed your endurance test today Sora, I'll be back soon for another session. Be sure you're ready when I come."

Blood seeped down his forehead, but he still didn't make a sound.

He just had to wait it out as usual. They would leave when they were satisfied. He kept counting, "150, 151, 152…"

Konan straightened his hair and turned to his friends. "Let's go."

Sora watched them go. All three of them—Konan, Marce and Dai, he watched each step they took and when he was sure they were out of sight, he voiced his last count with struggling breaths "one sixty-five."

They beat their last record of a hundred and fifty-two seconds.

Their sessions were usually short, short but effective, and its effect was always lasting.

He had lost count of how many sessions they had had since he joined the academy.

Sora laid still till his breathing evened out, but still his insides hurt. No matter how many times he went through Konan's endurance test, he could never get used to it. Holding his breath only worked the first time. After that, it was a battle between fighting to keep his lungs from failing and completely giving up. But Konan always timed his sessions right and brought him back from the brink each time.

When he had gathered enough strength, he struggled to get up, pushing all his weight on the wall. They had cornered him in one of the separated halls set aside for hunters which Sora constantly used as his solitude since losing his previous spot to Konan and his friends. He now would have to walk all the way to the infirmary, which was on the other end, to get his cut treated. He touched the cut on his head. It ran deep, and the blood continued to flow. If he made it in time, he could get it treated thoroughly, but he knew he had no strength to make a quick run. He wouldn't be able to make it quick enough, and the cut would leave a scar.

Sora began his walk to the infirmary, dragging his feet slowly. Thankfully, it was almost dusk. Training would have been over for most mages, so he wouldn't have to run into many people.

He wouldn't have been able to avoid their piteous looks and stares as he walked. The murmur would be even worse and they would hurt more than the cut he had.

The blood on his face was thick now. It glued to his face and the area around it throbbed.

A normal mage could have been able to clean it thoroughly before further treatment to prevent scarring, a level four mage could heal a deep cut like this immediately and completely without needing further treatment.

But Sora wasn't a normal mage.

After walking for a while, he reached the infirmary. The infirmary had several mages that specialized solely in healings, most of them were level two and only two were level three mages. The distinct colors of their badges showed which level each belonged to and after coming here so often, Sora had come to know each of them by their names. He was greeted with the same piteous look he had tried to avoid as he approached a nurse. He was probably the only one in the entire academy who came to the infirmary with blood wounds.

The nurse didn't complain. She simply gestured for him to wait in a room, his usual room. He went and sat in a chair while waiting for a mage to come attend to him.

After a few seconds, Xyrra walked in and sat in the chair opposite him. It was the third time she would attend to him. She was a level two mage. The blue badge on her cloak stood out clearly displaying her rank. She drew closer to Sora and laid her kit on the table close to them.

She held his head in place whilst examining the cut.

"This one will leave a scar, but I'll try to keep it minimal."

Sora didn't respond. He didn't need to. He had already settled with the fact that he would bear a mark that would be a constant reminder of his uselessness.

"How did you get this cut?" She asked in a low flat tone.

"I fell," Sora maintained an equally flat tone.

"You fell and busted your head this deep?" Her tone became sarcastic. "Must have been a very high fall."

Again, he didn't respond. He knew she knew how he got the cut. Everyone in the infirmary knew how he got his bruises and cuts. She had even healed the previous cuts for him.

"Alright then. It will sting."

They sat in silence, and she got to work on him. Xyrra first formed a water force and ran it over the top part of his head. Slowly but eventually, the thick blood cleared and the source of the blood became visible. She took out a vial from her kit and rubbed some of its content on Sora's forehead and then began to sew.

When she was done, she dropped her tools and "Give it a day or two. It'll heal up."

Sora nodded in appreciation and stood up to leave the room.

"This doesn't have to continue. You can report them." Xyrra tried to sound as neutral as possible, but her voice was full of subtle anger.

Xyrra had never spoken about his injuries. She simply did her job and got on with it. She didn't make him feel completely out of place like everyone else did. That was what made him more comfortable with her healing his wounds. She never had pity in her eyes when she looked at him and he was grateful for it.

Sora stood still thinking about what she had said. He had reported once in their early years. Konan was punished, but it had made him the talk of the academy for a while and more than being the victim of an attack, he was ridiculed for being abnormal. No mage wanted to be known for being unable to use his powers. His reputation wasn't one he was proud of. He knew reporting would only bring him out of the shadows again. He turned to face Xyrra again and he could see the concern in her eyes.

"I fell." Sora repeated.

"That cut is not from a fall. Report whoever it was. The academy has rules against things like this and whomever it was would get punished accordingly."

"Thank you for everything." Sora let out a soft smile.

He turned, walked out of the room and closed the doors behind him and walked out of the infirmary, but not without noticing the many eyes that followed him.

Sora felt exhausted. More mentally than physically. Konan's session made his body weak, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to put an end to everything but the injury to his mind since joining the Ivy was worse.

Being an abnormal mage was tough. Mages were marked by their energy. Sora had been born with such an energy torrent. He had had high hopes when he first joined the Ivy at a young age, but in all his years of being in Ivy, his powers never manifested. A rankless mage. A badgeless mage.

No one knew the cause or how to treat it. The Ivy masters had tried to help find a solution, but nothing had worked. They had never had to deal with a mage without powers, so they weren't exactly sure how to deal with him.

He didn't blame them for not being able to help. He couldn't blame himself either, because he had no control over his condition.

In fact, there was no one to blame, and that annoyed him the most.

Now he lived as a mere human amongst mages with.

Although he never advanced in training, the presence of his energy torrent was enough qualification as a mage to not get him kicked out, but it didn't stop him from being a target for ridicule.

He became the target for bullying and it was so bad that he now saw it as a normality. Konan especially, was his most loyal abuser, never missing a session and never going easy on him.

Sometimes he appreciated Konan. At least he took an interest in him, other mages avoided him like his condition was contagious.

Was it contagious?

He wasn't sure. But at this rate, even he himself was beginning to believe the rumors.

Finally reaching his dorm, which he had all to himself since most mages didn't want to contract his condition, Sora laid in bed with his eyes closed. The pain in his head throbbed, but it was bearable. It would be a long night for him.

After a while, he got up and walked to his table, picking out the first book he got as a new mage in the Ivy.

Theoretical training was his consolation.

What he lacked in power and experience, he made up for with knowledge, vast knowledge. He was probably more knowledgeable that most of the mages in the Ivy but what use was it when he didn't have powers?