It was at the back of an alchemical factory. There, a 'helper', an apprentice-in-name whose main job was to provide extra hands in a factory or a workshop, was disposing of barrels after barrels of alchemical wastes into a canal that flowed through the city.

As the waste materials were poured into the canal, movements could be seen at the bottom of the canal floor. With a gelatinous bodies and an Aether crystals that were their behavioral matrices, the 'slimes' served as the cleaners of the city. From the bottom of the canal did these slimes emerge and like sponges, they absorbed the wastes into their own bodies where it will all be broken down to their most basic elements.

Unlike the slimes spotted within the tower, these were attempts of recreating the beings seen within the tower. As such, unlike their tower counterparts, these slimes came with behavioral matrices that controlled their behaviors. Even so, as a kind of artificial lifeform, they were quite a marvel to behold.

To the helper disposing of the wastes, however, such things did not matter. The helper, the apprentice-in-name, only thought of them as strange but convenient creatures. For the helper, such magical marvels had nothing to do with him. Though he was told that if he worked hard enough, one day he too could be an apprentice proper, that one day, he too could master the art of magic, such hopes had long been worn away.

It took a while for it to sink in, but there was never a chance of him being taught anything. He was only brought here to be a servant to the mages, a beast of burden for their conveniences. Nowadays, the helper worked hard if only to avoid the lashes he'll receive if he were to be found lacking.

Like so, the helper endured one hopeless day after another, working to his bones. Little did he realize, on this day shall he reach his limit.

As the helper carried the barrel of waste from the back of the factory to the canal, a single misstep caused him to slip. The slip caused him to fall face forward with the barrel still within his grip.

To his misfortune, the barrel in his hands was old and was supposed to be replaced a long time ago. To cut costs, however, the factory continued to use it until it was worn and brittle. And on this day, upon smashing against the ground, the barrel cracked open and spilled its contents.

Along with the alchemical waste, toxic fumes rushed out of the barrel and struck the helper face first. The fumes burn his eyes and flooded his nostrils, and in that instant, he felt as if both the inside and out of his face were assaulted by a thousand burning needles.

In a panic, the helper tried to push away from the barrel and the leaking wastes. However, in his blindness, he did not realize that he was sticking his hands into the leaking waste fluid. Upon contact, his flesh began to melt and the fluid ate into his bones, destroying both his hands in a blink of an eye.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

By this point, the helper could endure no more and began to scream, alerting all within the vicinity.

***

Following the horrid cries of agony, Albatross arrived upon a scene of a freak accident involving alchemical wastes.

She had heard of the carelessness with which the toxic wastes were being treated and knew one too many horror stories that arose from the accidents as a result. However, this was the first time she had witnessed the horrific aftermath with her own eyes.

Arriving at the scene before Albatross had, there were two mage apprentices, pulling the helper away from the smashed barrel even while he kicked and screamed in agony.

"Damn, what a mess. Who's going to clean this up now?" said the younger of the two apprentices, gesturing towards the barrel with his chin.

"Just get someone to put up a warning sign," the older apprentice replied. "If it's spilled on the ground like this, the slimes should clean it up in due time."

"Should have just left it to the slime from the beginning."

"The slimes need to maintain moisture and work more efficiently in water. It's faster to bring the wastes into the water than wait for the slimes to crawl onto dry land."

"Tsk! What a god damned pain in the ass," said the younger apprentice. Being a slacker, he hated any extra work no matter how little of it there was. "And how long is he going to keep screaming!? Come on, shut up already! You're giving me a headache!"

"He'll quiet down once he's tired. Just report it and get back to work. The healers will come pick him up soon enough. More importantly, we need to finish the quota for today or Master Oro will be yelling at us again."

"As if I can work with him making all these noises. Can't we just toss him into the river?"

"Better not. The workhouse quartermasters will send someone to investigate. If they find out that we're responsible for one of their apprentices going missing, we'll be in trouble."

"Shit! Who cares about a few 'defectives?' We can just get more right?"

"It's not so easy nowadays. Besides, it will still take time to train them."

"Damn it! Aren't these darn 'defectives' being treated better than we are?"

"Well, they sure work harder than you are, that's for sure. Now quit yapping and get back to work."

With that, the apprentices left the helper on the ground, just some distance away from the toxic barrel. It was only after the apprentices were gone did Albatross approach.

Naturally, the helper was still crying out in agony, stopping only ever so briefly to take precious breaths. Looking upon him, Albatross could not figure a way to help him outside of simply choking him out and hoping that he falls unconscious.

(In the end, this is how it is for us in this city.)

Once more reminded of her helplessness, Albatross could feel something welling up within her. There was despair, yes, but there was also something else, something dark and wicked. From the depths of her heart, Albatross felt hatred and utter spite for the world around her, for the circumstances she had been placed in.

"I was in the area and have heard about the situation," a voice suddenly called out from behind. "Is this where the injured helper is?"

Turning around, Albatross spotted a hooded figure with a falcon perched on her shoulder. Try as the figure might to hide her face, the crystalline horn protruding from the left side of her forehead was unmistakable.

***

End of Chapter 79

***