20 Jealousy

Zeena was shocked at how fast Gin's injuries healed, but she wasn't in shock for long as the feeling was replaced with relief and happiness, tears streamed dkwn her face as sge sobbed loudly knowing that Gin wasn't going to die.

She held his unmoving but perfectly healed hand onto her chest, she was nor only frying from relief and happiness, but also from the fact that Gin had almost died due to her ineptitude in healing magic, even though it wasn't her fault that he became severely injured in the first place.

"It wasn't the external injuries you had to worry about as in this day and age, external injuries can be considered as cuts and bruises, able to be healed with no scars or lasting marks, it was the internal injuries you had tocworry about"

"I've healed most of his internal injuries including the most serious ones, he'd totally recover if you send him to a hospital to be professionally treated and fully recover"

"T-thank you…" Zeena was still crying as she thanked Al, but she was a little happier as she smiled at the good news.

"N-no, I… want to do the e-examination…" Gin had spoken out, seemingly conscious again, suprising Zeena and Harry.

"Also made him wake up with a spell, it was effective since his body was mostly healed and no longer in massive pain" Al added on.

"Gin! What are you saying! We can't even handle some thugs in the slums, and you almost died! How can you even think of doing the exam?" Zeena exclaimed, wiping her tears from her face so that Gin didn't see.

"Ah, they weren't common thugs, they were actually part of a gang in this area, and their leader over there was actually one of their strongest youths, eligible to register for the Noraxia Entrance Exam, and the rest of them too" Al informed them.

Kevin had revealed that they were going to register for the examination and had been doing so for a few years, only being able to pass the first trial last year by himself.

It didn't really matter to him if he passed the first trial or not as he's always been going to the fourth trial as a disqualified examinee, but never succeeded in defeating any qualifying examinees, especially with their buff.

"They were going to register like us? Does that mean that participants would go as far as to kill other participants to increase their chances of passing, even before registering?..." Zeena askes, she knew that there was a lot of competition in the examination, but obviously the information online wasn't enough to inform them of the real risks and dangers of the Examination.

"They are cases like that, but these guys motives aren't the same as those ones. Before i made their boss unconscious, i asked why they were targeting people and attacking them.

"He told me that someone had anonymously employed then to incapacitate or kill anyone who looked like they were going to register for the examination, and allowed them to choose their targets, paying them for each individual person incapacitated or killed"

"Thats…" Harry had joined the group and had heard what Al had said.

"Despicable and cowardly is what it is, only those with no confidence to pass in the examination would do such a thing" Gin had said in scorn.

"Or someone who wants less competition to increase their chances of passing" Harry added on."

"No difference"

"Either way, there would be a lot of victims, maybe even some who weren't going to register in the first place." Al concluded.

"Forget about that, you guys have no power to stop it anyway, and informing the authorities would bring more danger to yourselves."

The time was already 8:12 AM on Al's internal clock, and he had used a lot of Vaes in that battle, and also healing Gin consumed a fair bit, but he still had a lot to spare.

"So you guys can handle yourselves now right? I'm gonna rush ahead to the registration if you don't mind" Starting to leave the alleyway, thinking that there was nothing else to discuss.

"Wait!" Gin shouted out before he had left the alleyway.

"I-I know this is asking for too much after you saved us and saved my life, but could you help us get through the first trial? Actually… you don't even have to help us all the way"

"We'd be grateful if you could just help us through half of it and we'll use our remaining strength to go the rest of the way." Gin had asked in desperation, Zeena and Harry were surprised at their friend's request and his current atmosphere.

He was not calm and collected, nor did he sport a cheeky smile on his face, he had the expression of someone who seemed like their loved ones were about to die and they would do anything to save them, even tossing aside their shame and dignity to do it.

"I wouldn't mind helping you through the entirety of the first trial to be honest, but it's a given that i won't allow you to slow me down."

"I want to be one of the first to finish the trial, so while i won't abandon you out of nowhere, i might decide to part ways with the three of you if i think that i wouldn't be able to achieve my goal while helping you" Al had told them honestly, he was neither a saint nor the devil, he acted on his whims and his above average morals when the situation was mostly favorable for him.

If he had the ability to save someone with few repercussions to himself, he'd gladly do it.

But if he might die in the process, he would most likely not even consider it.

It also depended on the person he was saving, whether they had close relations, he most certainly choose to get more hurt to save a friend and might not even consider saving a stranger.

If it was a stranger, he didn't care if they were ugly or beautiful, male or female, the only factors he looked at when it were strangers was if they had committed crimes or atrocities, and age also mattered for him.

He would save an innocent man rather than a murderer, and save a child rather than an adult.

He didn't discriminate against the rich or poor either, nor did he discriminate someone's sexuality or social standing.

It wasn't a good or bad sense of morality that he had, it was one that made the most sense, it made sense to him at least.

Those who've done lesser wrongs and those who've lived a shorter life than others deserve to live.

Live longer than others? He didn't think that, only thinking that if they were to die not by natural causes, that they should deserve to be saved.

It's not only on terms of life and death did his morals apply logic, the chances of him donating money to someone begging on the street was much higher than the chances of him donating to a charity organization.

He also wouldn't go out of his way to look for people to help, and only helps those in his immediate vicinity.

"That's perfectly fine with me! Let's hurry up and go, we're already late for the registration!" Gin excitedly stood up, his serious expression was gone and was replaced by his usual carefree one.

"What about these guys?" Al pointed at the pile of unconscious bodies.

"I called the authorities, so they should be heading to this location in a while" Harry answered.

"If that's the case, lets leave them here, i cast sleeping spells on them so they shouldn't awake for a few hours." Al said.

"Great! Let's not waste anymore time and head to the registration" Gin said, heading straight out of the alleyway.

"B-but your inju-" Zeena stuttered out, still on the floor, she was frustrated that Gin was ignoring her concern once again, though she knew that her concern had reached him.

Harry sighed in defeat, knowing that once Gin is settled on something, he'd never change his mind or be swayed by anyone.

The two of them stood up from from the floor as they ran after the Al and Gin who had already left the alleyway.

---

When the four of them had exited the alleyway and were back on the roadside where they had been led off, the three introducing themselves to Al, and Al to them.

Al had told them there was no need to rush as he told them that it would be a blood fest over there and that he'd be able to register all of them in time even without rushing.

They reluctantly did as he said, trusting his words as they slowed down their pace, Zeena caught up with Gin as they walked together at the front, with Al slowing down and walking together with the slow Harry.

Looking at them from afar as the two started talking to each other, Gin and Zeena looked like a great couple, especially with their superior looks.

Looking to his side, he saw that Harry held a bitter expression on his face, his eyes glued on the two at the front, it quickly turned into a sad and disappointed expression as his shoulders slightly slumped.

Though he knew exactly what was bothering Harry, he still chose to ask his next question.

"The two of them together?"

"Huh?" The question didn't immediately register in his brain, still distracted by other things.

"O-oh… no they aren't… Zeena just gets over protective of Gin when he gets hurt or decides to do something risky" When the question registered, his bitter expression came back for a moment before disappearing, answering the question immediately afterwards.

"Does she do the same for you?"

"Me? Well you should already know my specialization is in defense magic and so i barely get hurt most of the time, and i'm not the type of person who takes much risks"

"So that's a no, how about the times you did get hurt, enough for her to worry about you?"

"..."

"She's worried over me then, but not as much as she worries over Gin even over the lightest injuries…" Harry spat out, his uncomfortable expression was slightly warping into an angry and sad one, his tone becoming slightly more harsh.

Al placed his hand on his shoulder gently, to try and calm him down.

Flinching a little at the touch, he noticed what he done and tried explaining to Al.

"I.."

"Jealousy breeds contempt, but we're all human aren't we?" Al interrupted, though he wasn't very wise himself, he's always seen the world in a slightly different light, and even more so after reading and scanning so many different books from the library.

"So tell me, how long have you liked her?"