The doorbell rang, buzzing an obnoxious tone twice. Ian, in the midst of evaluating the scent of the lincour plant, looked up toward the door. He didn't order any takeout yet, so he wondered who it could be. He peered into the hallway from the peephole. A convex view of a tall and handsome man with dark blond hair appeared in sight. There was resemblance in their dark hazel eyes and cheekbones.

Ian opened the door. “Why are you here?”

“For work, why can’t I come visit?” Kane asked, walking into the apartment and looking around with his judging demeanor. There were books scattered all around the apartment and potted plants around the window sills. Kane nudged some of the books aside and sat on the sofa. “You’re adjusting well.”

“Really, why are you here?” Ian asked again. If he didn't, Kane would pretend not to remember the question.

Kane rubbed his hand on the soft foliage of the sheragon lily nearby. “Have you awakened a geist?”

Ian closed the door and sat back down on his chair. He had no reason to hide from his brother, but he really wasn't sure himself. His 3 SP shouldn't be enough to awaken a geist. “I am not sure. But is it related to why you're here?" Ian had mastered the art of going around in circles like his brother.

“It’s part of something I have been assigned to investigate. How much do you know?”

Ian sighed. He hated talking to Kane for a reason. “Probably a lot less than you. Why is the Matupa Academy getting involved?”

“An independent task force within the Tallas Federation pinged suspicious activities within this area. As it involves alchemy, they naturally contacted the academy for assistance. So, do you have a geist or not?”

“Maybe, but I can't confirm it for sure. When you first awakened, did you know immediately what your geist was? What was it like?"

Kane recalled the moment when he awakened more than fifteen years ago. He remembered his mind was filled with information about his geist and its ability. It was quite sudden and it was what prompted his parents to have him tested. During the test, they confirmed that Kane had reached ten SP and awakened. Their parents were both delighted and surprised since Logan had already awakened and they weren't expecting their third child to awaken as well.

Ian had a similar experience, except his SP was still three and there were still some things he did not understand. Kane then explained CCPharma's involvement.

“So you think someone tampered with the drug in order to find a way to awaken a geist?” Ian asked. It made sense. But was it possible to trigger a geist with so little spiritual power? There was no precedent for it so far.

“The drug seemed to be less effective on people with lower SP and rankers,” said Kane. “I am not sure why you would react differently from most people, other than your frequent trips into the otherworld.”

Ian also came up with the same conclusion. He may be one of the few people who regularly ate exoplants within the otherworld.

“If there is a way to awaken a geist, then whoever created this plan will want to investigate you,” said Kane. “I don’t think anyone has flagged you yet.”

“Yeah, you can thank the local police department for that,” said Ian. “The officers can barely type with more than two fingers. ”

“And it doesn’t have to do with the way you poorly organize all your things?” Kane asked. He guessed correctly that Ian had thrown out the original bottle with the CCPharma label.

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“They are organized in my own way,” replied Ian.

“You don’t even remember the name of the brand of drug you took.”

“Why should I keep track of that? There are already too many things I have to keep track of. And besides, it’s the same compound no matter where it is made.”

“How about the police investigation into your case?”

“They scaled back the investigation once the toxicology report came back negative. Since no one else was involved, they haven’t reached out to me for more questions. The doctor also concluded that it was something I ate in the otherworld realm.”

“If that’s the case, leave it be,” Kane suggested. As long as the police haven’t connected Ian to CCPharma, then no one should be investigating his brother. Maybe his brother's scatterbrain tendency was a blessing. "Try to keep a low profile."

Even without the warning, Ian already had that in mind. “What about you? How long are you staying to investigate?”

“Just another week,” said Kane. “I heard from mom and dad that you’re looking for a job. Why did you sign up for gardening duties at Matupa?”

“Because it was the only position available. Did the academy's HR reach out to you about it?”

“Yeah, I’m surprised you even bother to write me down as a reference.”

Ian had to sacrifice a bit of his ego for that. “Do you know when they will process the paperwork?”

“Probably not for a while. Everyone is busy preparing for the next raid.”

The monster raid was something Ian had heard about, but it was so far removed from his reality that it wasn’t something on his radar. It was like hearing about a war in a different part of the world. Everyone knew it had a profound effect on the people living within the otherworld, but it rarely affected people on the other side.

Kane shifted from the sofa, preparing to leave. “Is your geist related to spiritual plants?”

Ian sneered. “Like I’m going to tell you.”

Kane shrugged. It wasn’t like he had revealed to his brothers what his geist ability was. Before opening the door to leave, he threw Ian a little box.

“What is this?” Ian asked as he caught the box.

“Early birthday present, from me and Logan,” Kane said.

“Do you know a good place to buy cheap spiritual plants?” Ian asked.

“Have you looked up the local black market?” Kane asked.

“You mean the cosplay one?” Ian asked.

The so-called black market had turned into a spectacle over the years, with many people calling it the cosplay market. When it started, it was simply a few vendors buying and selling defective and counterfeit otherworldly items. The ORA didn’t restrict the transaction, as they weren’t deemed dangerous in the real world. The main purpose was to evade the local tax laws. Hence, the ORA often turned a blind eye over such dealings. It was even suggested that many ORA’s administrators participated in black market dealings and the local police ignored them. Many of the locals liked visiting the market to see high priced items and the range of disguised rankers. Overtime, people started to call the black market the cosplay market.

"Birming is large enough to have one or two somewhere around the city,” said Kane. “You should be able to find it on the ORA forum."

After Kane left, Ian opened the small box. Inside was a round pill. The small description inside the box called it the pneumata pill. The pill was known to provide spiritual enhancement. It was extremely rare around the region, but was probably a more common commodity in Matupa. Ian smelled the pill, but the scent was unusually complex. He pulled away quickly, feeling as though he would get a headache if he continued smelling it. Instead, he put it away for a different day and took a moment to digest what Kane had revealed to him.

ORA Private Server - Forum Topics [Rankers should be exempted from local taxes!] +124 [What’s the point of taxes if all the rankers have ways to get around it?] +67 [Cory Row Cosplay Market in Birming City] +465

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