Four hours had passed, and the cooking exam had finally come to an end.
I was currently standing in front of my apartment door, downright depressed by today's events.
Although I'd rather not admit it openly, Amelia had truly saved me from failing the exam… and potentially getting expelled.
Haaa.
You see, while I was engrossed in cooking, my mind wandered elsewhere and as my attention diverted, I made a mistake.
Well, let's not dwell too much on the details and let's say that I almost set the entire class on fire.
How did something like that even happen, one may ask?
You see, I always wear my hidden blade on my right wrist— by always, I mean all the time. And by all the time, I mean ALL THE TIME.
As a result, it's quite easy to forget it's even there sometimes.
So, there I was, deep frying the skinned Moonlit Rabbit, holding myself from drooling over the mouthwatering aroma filling up the kitchen.
Suddenly, I felt a tinge of sharp pain in my belly.
Distracted by the pain, which I blamed on the sudden shift in my diet, I instinctively tried to grab my waist.
But while moving my hands, I accidentally flicked my wrist twice, causing my hidden blade to spring forth.
To my horror, the blade struck the gas line and punctured it, resulting in a dangerous gas leak.
Thankfully, before an explosion could occur, Amelia, for reasons unknown, had been keeping a watchful eye on me.
She reacted quickly and with her wind magic, she create a vacuum to seal the cut in the pipeline.
It was a foolish mistake on my part.
But the worst part, however, was what happened after that.
After everything settled down, Amelia looked at me and uttered, "That's why I said your utensil usage is not good," and gave me a look that screamed, 'I told you so.'
As if that wasn't enough, Amelia also managed to complete her dish on time and ended up winning the bet we had made.
And to make matters worse, I had to listen to an earful from our culinary instructor for jeopardizing the safety of my fellow cadets.
She also deducted a huge chunk of my Merit Points.
Usually, when I make blunders, they're intentional and meant to cause chaos or openings in my enemy's defense.
But this time, it was a genuine, stupid mistake, which made it all the more frustrating since I was really looking forward to winning that bet with her.
I should've taken out my hidden blade before coming anywhere near the cooking stove.
Haaa.
Hmm, I should be more concerned about the lives I put in danger rather than my bet with Amelia?
Meh. No one was in any mortal danger since everyone present there was a Mana User, after all.
At worst, they might have suffered second-degree burns, but even that could have been easily healed with some healing potions from the academy's stock.
So, yeah, I was only disappointed from losing the bet with her.
Haaaaa.
Well, it's fine. I trust that Amelia won't ask me to do anything weird. I hope… that she won't.
Shaking my head to clear such stray thoughts, I pressed my thumb against the biometric scanner on the wall beside my door.
Ding—!
As the fingerprint scanner turned green, I quickly twisted the doorknob and swung open the door to my apartment.
Ba Dum, Ba Dum—!!
"....?!"
However, the moment I stepped inside, my breath quickened, and it felt as if my heart was about to burst out of my chest.
"Gaaah!" I gasped for air, collapsing to my knees.
My vision blurred, and my head felt light.
Confusion washed over me as I scanned the room, until my eyes finally landed on the Mana Beast Egg resting on top of the center table, radiating a bright golden glow.
"It... It's hatching?!" I managed to utter through ragged breaths, struggling to regain my composure and stand back up.
Yet, no matter how hard I tried to rise to my feet, all I could manage was to crawl.
So that's what I did.
Down on my knees, with a frantic kick, I closed the front door of my apartment and propelled myself forward.
I started crawling using every ounce of strength left in my muscles.
The egg shouldn't be hatching right now!
Based on my calculations, it should have taken at least a few more weeks. Did I make an error somewhere?
No, that's impossible.
I don't make mistakes. And I certainly couldn't have made such a big blunder.
With each passing thought that only raised more questions in my mind, cold beads of sweat started to form on my forehead.
I was trying my best to get to the Egg as quickly as I could, but I was nearly not fast enough.
All I could only manage to do was crawl a few steps before the blinding light coming from the Egg grew brighter and forced me to squint my eyes in discomfort.
At that very moment, an excruciating pain pierced through my abdomen, centered around my solar plexus.
"Arghhh!" I gritted my teeth, muffling a scream of agony as I clutched my stomach tightly, feeling the pain ripple throughout my entire body.
"Agrhaaaa!"
My head grew lighter. An overwhelming fatigue washed over me. It felt as if my eyelids were suddenly made of lead now.
The last thing I can remember before darkness shrouded my vision and I fell unconscious was a crack appearing on the surface of the Egg.
†
Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak—
I felt someone constantly poking me with something pointed like a pencil.
"Grhh!" Groaning in frustration, I rubbed my eyes and tried sitting up straight.
I was still feeling pain in my muscles, but due to my drowsiness, I paid it no heed.
Sitting back up, I opened my eyes and blinked a few times to clear my vision before looking around.
"The fuck just happened–"
Confused, I touched my chin and tried to remember why I was sleeping on the floor before I suddenly remembered!
I had come back from the academy when I opened the door and saw that the Egg was already starting to hatch.
I felt pain and lethargy before I finally passed out.
"The Egg!" I exclaimed and looked around.
Did the Mana Beast come out?!
As soon as I thought that, something poked me again on my leg.
"Ouch!" I yelped, jolting back on my legs and quickly looking at my feet.
To my surprise, it wasn't a person wielding a pencil; it was a bird using its beak to poke me.
"...Huh?"
Before I could even process any of this, the little baby bird flapped its wings and hopped on its legs.
"Krik! Krik!"
It came up to me and started rubbing its head against my leg while chirping merrily.
"...Uh?"
Was it trying to wake me up?
I knelt down, cupped my hands, and gently picked up the baby bird.
"Damn," as I looked at it closely and it took my breath away.
Its feathers were a brilliant shade of red and were subtly glowing, like dancing flames that shimmered with a magical light.
Around its delicate neck, its feathers transitioned from red to silver, adding an elegant touch to its fiery presence.
"Krip! Krip!" The baby bird emitted soft chirping sounds, filling the air with a sweet melody.
Its wings, though small, quivered with excitement, as if ready to take flight into the sky.
I couldn't quite explain it, but there was an undeniable bond between us.
If I remember correctly, in the novel, William experienced a similar connection upon meeting his cat, Rui.
When Rui's egg hatched— yes, she was hatched despite being a cat— William felt an indescribable bond with her.
"Although I didn't understand it while reading, right now, I guess I'm feeling something similar," I mused.
In simple terms, it felt as if we were deeply connected.
William referred to this phenomenon as Soul Sync in the novel.
When he poured his mana into the Beast Egg, he internally circulated it throughout his body.
Consequently, as his mana flowed into the egg, it carried a tiny essence of his soul every time with it.
As a result of that, when his Mana Beast Egg hatched, Rui and William's soul were synced in a similar wavelength.
Maybe the same thing was happening with me and this little baby bird.
Essentially, it was like sharing the same soul with the Mana Beast. This process was the most effective way of taming the Mana Beasts.
"But what are you?" I blurted out, my eyes fixed on the mesmerizing red baby bird in my hands.
Yup, there was no mistaking it.
One look at it and it's clear that this creature was anything but ordinary.
After all, the Egg it hatched from was of mythical rank. So, obviously, this beast ought to be special.
But what is it?
Hmmm. Let's see.
A bird-type mana beast, adorned with feathers that resembled flickering fire.
Could it be…
"Hmmm... Wait!" I gasped, my mind racing to a startling realization. "Could you be... a Phoenix?"
"Kreeeik!" The baby bird chirped in response, almost as if affirming my suspicion.
