Kane walked into the Alchemy Building, one of the buildings built entirely by petra magicians. The structure, inspired by Grecian temples, rose high above, showing off the prowess of the magicians welding their powers to mold the stones and marbles into fluted columns and ionic capitals. Mosaics decorated the long corridor leading into the classrooms. In one of the auditorium style classrooms, a young woman, adorned with a butterfly clip on a hair bun and dressed in a cream-colored cheongsam, carefully stirred a mixture into a teacup. The cups, plates, a terracotta pot of tea, and several long narrow wooden spoons were spread out evenly and purposely on a bamboo table. As a teaching assistant, Yaya led the practical magic session to demonstrate the art of apothecary.
Like most manacrafting trades, apothecary could be performed by non-rankers. The key to manacrafting was the materials, the specific mixture, and a little known factor called artistic value. It was an obscure and difficult concept to grasp, with few artisans agreeing on a certain method. Although potion-making could be done by anyone, it must be performed inside the otherworld realm. Most apothecaries used portable potion kits with a thermometer, flasks, and scale. Yaya used a tea set.
She carefully measured the matcha powder and poured it into a plain porcelain cup. The spoon, nestled between her index finger and thumb, stirred the mixture in circulation motion. The mixture dissolved and eventually settled with a calming green glow. She smiled as her neck craned to look around the classroom. The entire room chilled with a sudden aura. Her smiles rarely ever reached her eyes, and there was a menacing expectation in the pair of dark eyes that made the students cowered in fear. It wasn’t as though she was the professor, but she was equally intimidating.
Most manacraft trades passed down through apprenticeship, but the Matupa Academy mandated a general overview course for all incoming freshmen. As it was a difficult skillset to learn, there was no expectation for anyone learn. A passing grade was simply decided by how well a student executed the process, not the end results. However, Yaya had the worst reputation out of all the assistant professors, known for failing over half of the students.
“The art of potion-making is all about care and intention,” Yaya explained. “You must carefully gauge how much of the ingredient is used, the temperature, the source, and texture.” As she finished explaining, the tea in the cup suddenly formed a green glow. “This tea will boost magical strength. It is most effective between 160 and 165 degrees.”
Teas and potions had similar effects as accessories. The main differences were potency and time. Potions were more potent, but temporary. It loses its effect over time, and was the most useful during emergencies inside the otherworld. As a result, tea-making was an overlooked manacraft trade.
“I need a volunteer to try this tea,” Yaya looked around and her sharp eyes narrowed on Kane. “Assistant professor Zimmer, would you care to try?”
The student body turned their head toward the back where Kane was sitting. Whispers and chatters between the students emerged, a celebrity was in their midst. Kane, used to the constant stares from students, stood up and approached the front. He took a position in a vacant chair across from Yaya and bowed his head. Yaya politely gestured for him to drink and he complied. The tea tasted bitter, but the smoothing afternotes of lavender and the sweetness from the gailoro plant lingered. Kane felt the blood in his body pumping stronger and his muscles relaxed.
“Care to demonstrate?” Yaya asked.
Kane held his right hand up and scribbled in the air an ancient glyph. As he mumbled a formula, different elemental mana converged and transformed it into starry fireflies that filled the entire auditorium. The fireflies fluttered around and slowly disappeared.
“The casting time is a lot faster than usual,” said Kane. “And I don’t feel like I have expended a lot of spiritual energy.”
Yaya nodded.
The surrounding student body clapped. The fireflies dispersed outside the window and would eventually fade into the light. The tea cooled, gradually losing its green glow. Class ended and the students rushed out toward their next lectures, leaving Kane alone sitting near the front of Yaya.
“You have to stop scaring the students,” Kane told her.
“Why? It’s not like babying them will help them improve,” said Yaya. “I heard Professor Yokomi invited you to the multi-disciplinary hearing for the monster raid. Are they asking you to join the enhancement crew?”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Is that why you ask to see me?” Kane asked. “I am not sure what they are asking me to do yet, other than to attend the meeting.”
“I see,” Yaya nodded. “So you are not going to be busy until then.” Yaya slid by him a 2-inch thick binder with various documents. “I heard you’re from around the Birming area, so I wanted your input on something.”
Kane scanned through the documents quickly. There were various medical files of violent deaths within the past three years. Most of which had been happening around the Birming area and relating to a factory called the CCPharma. “Why are you investigating this?”
“The federation task force requested consultation from Professor Natany,” said Yaya. “However, since all the professors are focused on preparing for the next raid, I am assigned to lead the investigation.”
“I see.” Kane was aware of the standard shift of responsibilities during a raid. However, Yaya’s task was unusual for a teaching assistant. “What do you need from me?”
“I don’t like traveling out of Matupa, especially to a foreign land on the other side of the world. So I need someone to help me investigate. Since you don’t have any additional workload before the raid, I would like you to help me.”
Kane sighed. “Why do you think I have time to help you investigate?”
“Because your family is an hour away from the factory, and you can visit them during this assignment. Isn’t that a great idea? I’ll take over teaching duties for your classes. You don’t even have to worry about paperwork, Professor Natany has already approved of this idea.”
“So you want your rival out of the way while you stay in Matupa?”
“I thought we’re friends.”
“Only when you need help.”
“I’ll give you a tome for taking my place.”
Kane’s ears perked up. “What did you find out so far?”
“We know the source of the pill is a packaging factory in Birming. However, since the existing toxicology reports of the drug didn’t produce any unusual findings, it is difficult for the judge to issue a warrant. The police were able to confiscate several bottles for testing from the local drugstore. Professor Natany tested them, but there are no traces of mana. That said, she couldn’t rule them out as failed alchemy pills.”
Kane raised his eyebrow. Most failed alchemy pills had no usage, a simple binder with no strange effects, other than the typical side effects. The chemical compounds that can negatively affect the body were traceable and dealt with using Federation laws and regulations. Kane wasn’t aware of any alchemical formula that produced a compound similar to ibuprofen. The case may be connected to his brother’s case. If there was a connection, it would be helpful to see if there was something going on with the factory.
“We have tested it on rats. So far, 2% suffered from a heart attack and 1% displayed unusual behavior,” said Yaya. “From there, we isolated it down to two bottles. More than 25% died from various organ failures, and 5% behaved in an unusual manner. This suggests that someone is switching out the bottles. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to shut down the factory.”
“If there is a problem with that factory, isn't the circumstantial evidence enough?” Asked Kane.
“Not when they have data to show that there is nothing wrong with the drugs,” said Yaya. “It’s not like food poisoning where the bacteria can be identified. Also, the reaction varies. The factory manager swore that he would consume the pills himself. The parent company refused to issue a recall without concrete evidence.”
“If it’s tampering, do you have suspects or even a motive?”
“I need you to investigate that. The local investigator has two suspects that they have been secretly tailing. They have a known history of violence. However, after weeks of tailing them, they haven’t been able to uncover anything.”
“What is your opinion on this?”
“It wouldn’t make sense for a serial killer to randomly kill people and not be there to enjoy it. All their current employees appear to be mentally stable. So, there is another angle I want to look into. What if the motive isn’t to randomly kill people?”
“You think it’s meant to trigger a geist?” asked Kane. Experimentations to forcefully awaken a geist was banned since the seventies. Aside from resistance from the public, there were no quantifiable methods to replicate results.
“What if there are certain requirements that can create a successful awakening?” asked Yaya. “For example, if a body had a certain physical type, blood type, or temperament that allowed a person to awaken?”
“Are there precedents to suggest this?” Kane asked.
“Not enough sample size to confirm, and I think that's their goal. They want to collect enough data to see what type of person can successfully awaken a geist. Most of the cases I have seen so far are connected to CCPharma. But in another sense, it also makes it easier for the mastermind to track down who has the bottle.”
Kane swore under his breath. “I hope your assumption is wrong.”
Whoever planned it must have a lot of resources to create such a dialogical plan to use the public as lab rats.