My System Academy

Chapter 57 Curse Of The Winter Rose

Aurpiel led Jinmu and Emi to their temporary camp. They brought 10 carriages with them that were lined up perfectly on the road. 50 guards spread out in the area, watching the perimeter.

The horses were sent somewhere else to eat and rest.

Aurpiel carried Lila on his shoulder, turned around, and looked at the two.

"Thank you for coming with me…"

"Call me Jinmu, sir."

Aurpiel scratched his cheek, "Jinmu and… uh, Emi, was it?"

The two nodded.

"So what brings you out here, the two of you? Are you travelling to Norva Assili? Or somewhere near that?", Aurpiel inquired.

He wasn't wary of Jinmu and Emi. His intuition told him that these two were friendly. His years of traveling around Aludia earned him the experience of knowing whether one was an enemy or not.

Meanwhile, Jinmu analyzed Aurpiel's identity.

[ Name: Aurpiel Meretha ]

[ Age: 46 years old (138 human years) ]

[ Race: Half-Elf, Half-Human ]

[ Status: Alive ]

[ Affiliation: Alderian Terrestrial Sanctuary, Aurpiel Merchant Caravan, Elven Emporium - Nirulva City Branch ]

[ Remarks: No knighthood or magic talent. ]

'He's just a normal person. But how come his child is so talented?', Jinmu wondered.

To have a legendary magic root right off the bat, his wife must be an extraordinary person.

"We are on our way to Norva Assili.", Jinmu told him half the truth.

"That makes us the same then."

Aurpiel gestured at them to sit near the large campfire.

Pots, plates, and utensils were placed around. The scent of the soup and other delicacies assaulted both Jinmu and Emi's noses. Their stomachs growled in reply.

Aurpiel chuckled, "See? And you wanted to reject me. Come, let's sit down and gobble on the food."

They merrily ate with Aurpiel leading the talk about various topics. He didn't ask where they come from nor what they intended to do in Norva Assili. It felt like he was here recounting his adventures to his old friends.

The night darkened further and Jinmu wanted to go back now.

"Thank you for your generosity, sir. We're out of time and my elder brother has come to pick us up.", Jinmu pleaded.

He wasn't certain of Aurpiel's personality and motives. It was better to be careful than sorry.

"Is that so? Then I'll guess we'll see each other in Norva Assili then. Please do come over and buy some goods from me if you have the time, okay?", Aurpiel smiled.

"Yes.", Jinmu bowed before taking Emi out of the encampment. He maximized his focus and checked whether someone was following them through the map.

'No, they're still there.'

Emi nudged his arm, "Senior brother Jinmu. Don't you know? That Lila was able to see through my nature concealment skill. She even proactively went over and greeted me normally."

Jinmu was dumbfounded. Lila has yet to start cultivating but she saw through Emi's skill that easily?

"Maybe it has something to do with her magic root.", he replied.

Emi smiled, "I think so too. She is interesting. I wonder if academy master would take her if he knows of her talent."

Her words and tone were more mature and confident than before.

"I doubt the academy master would reject a talented seedling. Also, it seems that the two of you are going together very well."

Jinmu noticed that Lila was fond of talking to Emi, with the latter having the same feeling too.

"Me, and Lila? I don't know senior brother Jinmu. All I could say is that the two of us have a similar experience in life."

Her answer confused Jinmu. What was so similar to them other than the fact that they were both demi-humans?

'Is Emi referring to the loss of a special someone thing?'

Jinmu experienced it too but why was he unable to feel that loss from Lila at all?

Was it because of his calm and cold demeanor which numbed his heart from the emotions of others?

"Alright, I don't know what you are talking about but we'll see if the academy master piques his interest in Lila and whether her father will approve of it.", Jinmu advised.

Aurpiel probably doesn't know that her daughter was talented. After all, he sees himself as a normal human so her daughter should be too, right?

The two covered a lot of distance and were now far away from the area. They then teleported and returned to the academy.

…

The moment they left, a commotion rung inside the camp. The carriage where Aurpiel stayed started quaking in place.

He moved quickly to open the door and saw an unhealthy Haera whose face slowly became ashen white. Coldness seeped within her body and she wanted to crawl out there and warm herself.

"The curse, it's acting again!", Aurpiel said in a horrified tone. He could feel the cold aura that Haera emanated.

It greatly affected him that he almost suffered from frostbite. Fortunately, a blurry figure dashed to the inside, throwing Aurpiel away before he was frozen intact.

A voice then resounded in his mind, 'Let me handle this.'

'Ah… yes, sir Veron.'

…

Inside the carriage, Veron grimly stared at Haera who was enduring the pain. He put his palm on top of her chest and let out a small blast of a sound wave.

Sky-blue fragments of mana were expulsed out of Haera's body. Despite the beauty they displayed, the fragments were harmful to the touch. They were extremely cold and a careless touch will freeze anybody.

Veron generated another sound wave again, shattering the fragments into nothingness. Haera's ashen expression eased up and the rosiness of her skin returned.

'Damn it, this Curse of the Winter Rose is plaguing her body non-stop. It's been acting more frequently lately.'

This particular curse was deadly because it slowly emits a freezing aura coming from one's heart. The longer it remained, the stronger the curse would become.

At first, one would only feel chills in their body. Next, the coldness seeps into their heart. It slows down the heart's pulse rate, endangering the person. There's even a chance of a blood being frozen, blocking the passageways which has a high chance of killing its target.

The curse then spreads out to the other parts of the body. If left untreated, it will fully cover the person, the winter rose will bloom, and the target dies.

One cannot touch them easily as well because the curse was highly contagious.

The only way to stop it required the help of an archmage expert in the field of ice-related spells or fire-related spells.

The former can undo the said curse while the latter could extinguish it with their fiery fire magic.

Unfortunately, due to the conflict that arose in the Sanctuary which then shifted its focus to the Zumfiel Noble Household, calling for help now wasn't a viable option. Their household also doesn't have any members that have an affinity for ice.

As such, Norton ordered Veron to carry Haera in the deep mountainous regions of the Northern Glacial Continent and request help from the divine frost dragon to undo the said curse.

Teleporting using his skill wasn't possible. The curse greatly weakened Haera's body, unabling her to handle the stress during hte process of teleportation.

Publicly carrying her around was stupid. That was tantamount to telling their enemies that something was wrong within their household.

They desperately turned to Wyn Qinric and asked him if they could 'smuggle' Haera out of the Sanctuary without grabbing attention.

Luckily, the fat man had a merchant caravan going to Norva Assili the day Veron approached him.

Wyn reminded Veron that the merchant caravan was only a transport method, not Haera's bodyguards or something of the sort.

Veron understood his words and told him that he will take care of Haera and quickly depart should their presence endangers the lives of the merchant caravan.

…

Going back to the present.

Veron patted her head, "Haera, don't worry. We're almost near the northern glacial continent. Bear with it a little more and your uncle will definitely get rid of that curse."

Haera replied with a nod before going back to sleep.

Veron sent out a telepathic message to Aurpiel.

'She's okay now. You can go back without a worry.'

Hearing Aurpiel's departing footsteps, Veron sighed. He did saw Emi and Lucan earlier and wondered if it was of coincidence or was of destiny.

'That Jinmu said that there's a senior brother nearby but I can't feel him. Maybe he's out of reach.'

Veron mused that this person must be the guy Haera was talking about to him when she was feeling unwell in the earlier weeks. She said that she wanted to meet him badly but she doesn't know if her body could survive before it happens.

…

"Was that man so remarkable that you couldn't forget about him, Haera?", Veron asked.

"Yes, I've only spent a day with him but it felt like an entire lifetime for me.", Haera replied, "Do you know, uncle? When Vulture stopped our carriage that time, he stood up for me and his words put my heart in ease."

"It made me feel happy and safe…", she coughed before continuing, "How I wish I could see him again…"