Chapter 30: First step

Time passed by in a breeze, and before anyone knew it, the day of the License Exams had arrived.

Eren heaved himself up, feeling his back muscles strain to pull against the push of gravity. The weighted plates strung on his waist doubled his entire body mass, providing enough hardship to stimulate his muscles.

The fatigue on his body turned mute against the myriad of thoughts coursing through his mind.

His worries, his insecurities, his questions... everything. Being an overthinker was a curse and a boon at the same time.

During the last six days, Geister prepared him for the challenges of the Exam the best he could, but there was always an aspect of unpredictability when it came to things like this.

Athan’s placating words pushed those anxieties aside. The fear of doing something is far worse than anything reality could throw at you. Usually, a trip at a red light district—

Those last few words were not important.

Stifled giggling from beyond his room broke through the memories in his mind.

Someone knocked a few times before opening his door.

"Is this—"

A nurse peeked through his door and was paralyzed as she made eye contact with him. Something caught in her throat, before she stumbled forwards on the floor.

Behind her, a flock of nurses’ voices echoed from the hallways. They wondered why their fellow nurse suddenly slipped for seemingly no reason.

"Are you okay—"

The door creaked open, and the words in their mouths turned into a breathy moan as their gazes were quickly lifted upwards, towards Eren as he performed his pull-ups.

His upper body glistened with sweat as his lateral muscles flexed at its maximum.

Nurses were familiar with all body types and sizes. But they’d never seen a body so... perfect. It’s as if Eren was sculpted by a maestro from ancient times. Sleek and lithe, yet compact with muscles at all the right places.

And his face just enhanced everything to a whole other level. The way his damp, curly hair fell flat around his forehead made him look like one of those famous actors before the Cataclysm.

It took the flock a few seconds to wake themselves up from the stupor.

"Uhh..."

Eren released his grip from the handles and dropped to the ground. The weights on his waist loosened as they clanked on the floor. He then picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from his face. "What’s up?"

One of the nurses opened her mouth to say something, but her gaze just kept on sliding down towards his abdominal muscles.

"You... the..." He’d never seen the nurses get so red.

The door crashed open as Nieve huffed behind the stunned nurses. "What are you all doing?!"

Nieve tried hard to push the nurses out of his room, but they resisted, turning towards her instead.

"Nieve! You didn’t tell us he’d become such a..."

"Am I the only one or does he look...," a nurse said, biting her lower lip as she looked at him sideways.

"Hey, if you ever need someone to change shifts with, I’ll gladly take it."

The nurses giggled amongst themselves as if Eren wasn’t even there in the first place.

"Shut up. All of you, please," Nieve begged.

"She’s right, everyone. She has dibs."

"Urgh. If I had known..."

Eventually, Nieve shooed away her chatty coworker friends out the door, leaving her alone with Eren. She turned towards him, before quickly averting her gaze. "Put on a shirt, please."

"Now I’m being told what to do in my own room?"

Nieve stomped her feet. "Just—". She peeked through her hands and saw him already wearing the tight-fitting black suit that was tailored especially for him. This was his battle armor for the License Exam.

"You were saying something?" he asked her.

"Right... the driver’s waiting for you in the parking lot. Geister said to make sure never to leave anything behind. He’s already waiting for you at the venue."

Eren looked around the room. The furniture and affectations of this VIP lodging were deliberately placed to elicit the feeling of a comfortable home. But nothing here was his.

"I’m ready," he said. He noticed that look on her face. "You look like you want to say something."

Nieve’s tight-lipped smile betrayed her true emotions. "Do you think... Do you think you’ll come back?"

Eren could tell a lot about a person through their facial expressions. He’d been taught to decipher them like a puzzle, as if it was another piece of information to use for his advantage.

He knew what she wanted to say. In the month he’d been here, he spent most of his time with Nieve. And inevitably, familiarization gave way to sentiment. At least, for her.

Eren felt no such emotion. Any kind of attachment to this world would end up as a burden in his path to cultivation. It would tie him down, when all he wanted to do was leave and go back to Immoræ. So, he didn’t reciprocate Nieve’s feelings.

"You already want me to be injured? That’s mean," he said with a laugh.

Nieve looked in his eyes and found her answer. Her shoulders started to lighten. It’s a response that she was already expecting to hear. His gentle rejection only lifted the burden in her heart.

"Just kidding," she laughed wryly. "I don’t want to see your face here ever again."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Eren opened the door and walked out of his room. She didn’t follow.

"I have to clean up your room for the next patient. Hopefully they’re not as troublesome as you," she teased.

"The parking lot’s that way, right?"

"Yup."

"Thanks Nieve." He walked away, with his steps echoing through the empty hallways.

He didn’t glance back. She’d do fine. More than that, she’d excel. After all, he taught her more than just the Flying Needle technique. He also imparted some of his medicinal wisdom towards her. It’s up to her how she would make use of that knowledge.

He made one last lap through the hospital, bidding his goodbye to the patients, the doctors, the nurses, the cafeteria ladies, and the custodial staff that he’d acquainted with for the past month. It never hurts to build connections.

Then, he finally reached the double doors leading to the parking lot. Feeling the breeze of a new day, he stepped out.