As Willem headed inside towards the class rooms, Kinsey headed to the mountains. She had been deliberating to herself whether to reveal the pain suppression elixir to the alchemy seniors whom she had befriended. She still believed it to be a huge boon to the fighting forces of the Army, but the after effects were quite devastating in the long run.
She traveled deeper into the mountains, towards the top of a naturally flowing river that winded down the mountain. Certain herbs that needed alot of water for sustenance grew here, like ivy poppy and yellow hibiscus. They could be found in abundance in the area making it a difficult but worthwhile journey to anyone who needed the herbs.
Once she reached the embankment she turned around to see behind her was eight other girls, who seemed to be having particular difficulties properly removing the plants from the earth while trying to keep pace. Kinsey greeted the group of women and showed them how to properly remove the plants. She asked why they had come so deep into the mountains when they did not have the proper experience and they shyly told her the truth.
"We received this task as a punishment by someone we dare not refuse. We followed you because you looked like you knew what you were doing but we hoped we would not interrupt you." The girl with bangs plucked up enough courage to explain the situation before sheepishly hiding behind the other girls.
"I see. I am collecting plants that absorb water to see if it has any added effect on water based fusions in elixirs. You are welcome to join me, but make sure to do as I do to not ruin the plant." Kinsey bent down and her supple hands plucked a waterlily from its leaves. The girls sensed a minute amount of magic leave her fingertips and slice the roots of the waterlily before she plucked it. The girls did their best to replicate the process, with varying success.
Those with fire and earth magic failed miserably, while those with wind and water magic excelled in the removal of the roots. The fire mages accidentally burned the roots, causing them to become useless. Kinsey watched there actions carefully, then directed the non water mages to other parts of the mountain.
The fire mages were sent to the blazing gardens deep in the mountain side where their fire magic would not burn the plant but instead bolster it. The earth mages were sent to the base of the mountain to pick earth root by sensing where underground they were and pulling them out. The wind mage was sent to the halfway point of the mountain nearby, where daze flowers bloomed. These were the most perilous to get, as only a wind mage had enough strength to fight against the high air pressure. The rock formation forced the winds along a narrow path that would knock lesser mages down the hill easily.
After a brisk morning of removing plants and replanting seeds in the mountains, the nine girls returned to the base. There, they saw Willem standing around waiting nonchalantly. The girls looked on in horror, until Kinsey ran ahead of them and went to hug Willem who had his arms open wide for her. She greeted him as Master and they walked off briskly while ignoring the other eight girls who stood behind dumbfounded.
After a few minutes they dared to move again and walked toward the school grounds while looking around warily. Each of the girls managed to pick sixty herbs thanks to Kinsey's instructions. If they kept this pace they would probably be able to gather the two hundred herbs in two and a half days. They had a total of five days until the next week started so this should be plenty of time.
Inside the Grand Library
Willem noticed a muddled expression on Kinsey's face and grabbed for her hands. He held her hands in his for a minute before she realized that she had been blankly daydreaming the entire time.
"You are still thinking about the pain suppression elixir, are you not?" Willem knew exactly what she was thinking about, but was giving her a chance to voice her concerns.
Kinsey nodded her head but said nothing. She held onto her Master's hands for a moment longer, and as if confirming something in her mind, asked his permission to go speak with a senior alchemist.
Willem nodded after giving it a moment of thought, and watched as Kinsey got up, bowed, and then left.
While she was gone, Willem went towards the restricted section of the Grand Library while showing his golden talisman. Though the guards expressed some doubt, they could do nothing once he used darkness magic to slip past them and into the restricted area. They held their tongues in embarrassment and then bowed as he walked forward without looking back.
As Willem looked around the shelves, he noticed a handful of tomes that were incomparably dusty and brittle compared to the others. He quietly placed himself at a nearby desk and poured through some of the books that caught his attention. Most of the books detailed the journeys of the human ancestors, and he was not sure why they were in the restricted section. However the more he read, the more he began to realize the words were coalescing in his mind to form an array. This was no ordinary array, and by the time he had gotten to the parts about how humans sacrificed other humans for demon summoning, the array had almost finished and had a faint glow in his mind.
The more he tried to read, the harder it became to concentrate on the words. His head became sweaty, and it seemed as if the sweat from his brow had glazed his eyes to the point that he could almost not see the writing. The more he read, the harder it became to continue but he felt that if he stopped, he would never be able to read the words again. Once he got to the last word, something felt like it unlocked in his mind. The words in the books could no longer be read, but it felt as if he had completed his objective.
The magic array that formed in his mind was the same array that was being shown on the dusty pages of the book. As he meditated on the array formation in his mind, he felt his blood was rushing faster through his veins. A faint burning feeling could be felt in his heart as his veins expanded. He sent his perception inward to his body and looked at the veins as they grew bigger, and just as they looked like they were going to tear apart from the sudden increase in size, they stopped growing. He sent some magical force through his veins and saw that it could actually hold more than before. He continued to supply magical force and noticed that his strength was bursting out alot more than it had before.
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This was not just a slight difference, it was incomparable to his previous strength. Willem drew his perception back outside from within his body and studied the books on the desk. The edges of the books had begun to deteriorate even more compared to before. The only thing Willem could think is that it was a magical book with a certain amount of activation times to learn this secret skill. He thanked his good luck and put the books he finished away into the shelves. Just as he was going to leave, he saw a red book covered in dust sitting among other books as if to hide itself.
At the same time in the Alchemy lab.
Kinsey had made her way through the school after departing with her Master. She had decided that the benefits outweigh the consequences, and would go forward with giving the pain suppression elixir to the senior alchemists she was in contact with. She briskly walked through the hall and eventually ended up at the beginner alchemists laboratory. She asked a student to find a certain senior alchemist, and waited patiently outside the room. After a few minutes passed, the senior alchemist appeared and instantly recognized Kinsey. Kinsey bowed toward the senior alchemist and asked to speak with him in private.
The senior alchemist pointed to an unused room and closed the door behind Kinsey once she had entered. She sat down and took out three pieces of crane grass, one piece of elder moss and two pieces of zoysia filament. The senior alchemist inquired as to what she intended to do.
"This was an elixir my Master showed me. He said I could take the credit for it but I dare not to. Therefore, I will show you what this can do and you will present it to your colleagues claiming it as your own." Kinsey set down a medicinal kiln and explained the process she used to refine the ingredients. She asked the senior alchemist to imbue a certain amount of magic into the kiln, and began to delicately refine the ingredients. Soon, a blueish green liquid had formed and she quickly poured it into two vials.
The senior alchemist looked on excitedly, watching as the zoysia filament added the cohesive structure to bind the elder moss and crane grass. Without the zoysia filament, the ingredients would not fuse and the mixture would be considered a failure. Furthermore, this was the first time he had ever heard of zoysia filament being useful for anything.
Once he saw it for himself, he was quick to take out his own ingredients, kiln and borrow some zoysia plants from Kinsey. He began to mix the ingredients, being careful to use the exact magical force he used previously, and soon the finished product appeared. Inquisitively, he asked Kinsey what the intended use of the substance was.
"It is a pain suppression elixir. When one imbibes, it dulls the pain of any wound until there is virtually nothing left. This does not heal the wound, it just tricks the mind into thinking you are unharmed. I have tested this elixir myself and naturally understand its effects. There is a large downside, however..." Kinsey was about to continue but saw that the alchemist was looking at the elixirs wide eyed.
She sent an open palm in his direction to stir him from his daydream and continued. "Anyone who imbibes in this elixir does so at a cost. If they consume it too often, they become addicted to it as if it was all they lived for. They can become dependent on its effects but their bodies will become naturally tolerant of it. Thereafter, its effects will hold no value to them and they will lose their mind."
Kinsey looked at the senior alchemist who now showed a horrified expression.
"Despite that, I still believe it is necessary for the Army to get their hands on this elixir for the sake of the upcoming war. Use your connections to make it happen, and explain to them the downside as well." Kinsey stood up from the table they had been conversing at, passed the senior alchemist the two vials and placed her kiln in her bag. She walked out the door without looking back.
After a few hours passed, the herbal composition room issued a command for all zoysia plants to be uprooted and replanted, and that their worth would go from one copper coin to five. Only a few understood why the price had spiked, but many turned in what zoysia plants they had before the buyers changed their minds.
Soon after, a representative platoon from the Army arrived at the magic academy and followed an advanced mage through the school. Many students looked on with inspiration as the platoon walked all the way from the entrance to the advanced alchemist laboratory. Inside, they found thirty students swiftly concocting elixirs and completely ignoring the arriving platoon. Though the leader was displeased, the advanced mage explained the situation of the discovery to him. He was given an elixir and was told of its effects and detriments.
The Army platoon was given a nearby room with which to test the elixir. After a few minutes had passed, the leader returned to the side of the advanced mage and placed an official order on behalf of the Army. He explained that they would be sending over an official request form and at that time the price could be decided.
He also spoke with the 'founder' of the elixir and stated his intent to give a medal in his honor. The senior alchemist bowed his head deeply and accepted the medal from the leader before returning to his mixture.
The leader spoke excitedly with the advanced mage before departing with his platoon. In the middle of the platoon could be seen a soldier with a grievous wound on his arm, smiling bigger than any other member.
This sent a shiver down the spine of the advanced mage but he kept his mouth shut for fear of insulting the Army platoon.