The tenth week rolled in with two major news items, the first of which was the fact that the selection process to pick out the candidates for the upcoming tournament had been shifted to the next term. It was disappointing news, as Aodhán had been looking forward to it impatiently; however, some of the students cheered, including Daruk, who was glad he’d been granted more time to prepare and perhaps gain another seal before the selection process came up.
The second major news was an announcement that their examinations would begin in two weeks. The announcement injected a healthy dose of fear into the students, and as the week’s classes began, one could feel a haze of nervous excitement slowly cloud the academy halls as students hurried in and out of classes.
Not all the students were a bundle of nerves, though; some, like Daruk and Imani, were calm, even excited for the examinations, while others, like Andrew and Yurin, bit their nails to the bone from nerves.
After Valerie’s class on Monday, Aodhán forcefully dragged Andrew and Yurin along with Daruk to the Vivarium of Arcane Research for his lightning experiments. It was nasty work, and he didn’t want to do it alone.
The Vivarium was an imposing structure, crafted out of runic scripted stones and located only a stone's throw from the Nature Laboratory. The Vivarium was designed solely for abominable experimental pursuits and tests. It was perfect for what Aodhán had in mind.
On their way there, Yurin asked, “So, just how many creatures do you intend to torture today?”
“I’m experimenting, not torturing,” Aodhán replied, but Yurin was not convinced.
He snorted. “They’ll be screaming, won’t they?”
“No, they won’t. They’ll be too frozen to scream. That’s why I need Daruk to come with me.”
“I don’t see why we have to come.” Yurin argued. “What do you need me and Andrew for?”
“To share in the trauma of the results. Daruk and I won’t be experiencing it alone.”
Daruk groaned, and Aodhán had to admit that his plans for the experiments on Sylvael lightning were sounding dangerously close to animal torture, but it truly wasn’t. Aodhán didn’t want to hurt the creatures; in fact, he had delayed this experiment this long for that exact reason. Last week, he had gone to the academy hospital to request a pack of anesthetic strong enough to put tier fifteen creatures into a coma, and unsurprisingly, he hadn’t been given
It had taken a ton of paperwork and a signed permission slip from Rahim before the hospital had even considered his request. Aodhán had eventually gotten the pack of anesthetic two days ago, and he imagined that if it was strong enough to put a Tier 15 creature in a coma, then it was strong enough to put Tier 20-24 creatures down for the count or, at the very least, dampen their senses for a few minutes.
Aodhán’s unwilling test subjects were the Rithclaws they’d caught from the dungeon last week, and the idea was that if any of them survived his experiments, he would return them to the dungeon to continue their lives in peace. If they didn’t survive, though, well, better animals than human beings, right?
They got to the Vivarium a few minutes later, and after presenting their IDs, the guard, a dark-skinned man with a bestial affinity, led them into the compound and towards the building proper. The man had a severe bloodline manifestation, with scruffs, claws, and even a mane of dark furs that made him look more animal than man.
While the man led them into the Vivarium, Aodhán focused his senses on the man’s core, trying to understand the man’s bizarre concept better.
The bestial affinity, like the affinity of change, had several sub-aspects, and Aodhán had realized that people with such affinities tended to be more restricted with their abilities and skills. Change, for instance, covered a wide range of sub-aspects, including transmutation, shapeshifting, changelings, molecular manipulation, and so many others.
These sub-aspects usually acted as standalones, never mixing or intertwining with other sub-aspects despite all being under one banner. A transmutation-awakened could never shapeshift, and despite being pretty close in nature, a shapeshifter was vastly different from a changeling. Lesser in Aodhán’s opinion, as they couldn’t morph into inanimate objects like changelings could.
The same applied with bestial affinity, and although Aodhán hadn’t come across many bestial awakeneds, he had seen a few beast tamers, as well as a tier 27 soldier who had the sub-aspect of adaptive physiology.
This man, though, had something different, as his core blazed with a hint of spirituality Aodhán hadn’t noticed in the others. The man felt more like a summoner to Aodhán’s senses, but before Aodhán could get a perfect sense of the man’s affinity, they reached the Vivarium’s entrance, and the man led them inside.
The interior of the Vivarium revealed itself, a large hall lined with enclosed workstations, each equipped with containment scripts, crystal-lit counters, and rune-inscribed tools. The guard led them to one of the workstations, warned them to be careful, and showed them a large red alarm button before promptly leaving them to their own devices.
They took in the spacious workstation, wide eyes lingering on the rows of chains and contraptions that filled the room. Andrew was the first to break the silence. “What do you think those chains are for?”
“I’d rather not think of what any of these instruments are used for.” Yurin replied uneasily and then added. “Or what they’ve been used for.”
“Oh, yuck!” Andrew shuddered and recoiled, his face paling at the mental image Yurin’s words conjured.
The chains they were referring to were a group of six bladed, palm-width null chains hanging from the center of the ceiling. The purpose of the chains was immediately obvious, but what surprised Aodhán was the size of those chains. Just how large was the creature it had been used to hold?
Aodhán turned his gaze away from the chains and towards another contraption, this one a thick metallic chair that looked no different from the electric torture chairs he’d seen in pictures back on earth. The chair was nearly eight feet tall, and once again, Aodhán wondered what sort of creatures the chair had been built for. So far, since his transmigration to ÆFLYM, Aodhán had yet to come across any creature above the 24th tier within the settled areas of the kingdom, and even amongst the ones he’d encountered, only a few of them had been evolved.
This was because these areas had been culled and settled for human habitation, even the parts that weren’t being utilized yet. Beyond the settled areas, though, closer to the soul seed mines, Aodhán had heard tales of much stronger and larger creatures. Creatures with intelligence.
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From his studies, Aodhán knew that creatures grew larger with each tier of advancement, but considering the scale of this contraption, Aodhán suspected it was built to hold a mythic creature at least.
Turning his gaze back to the chains, he joined Yurin, Daruk, and Andrew at the center of the workstation, and they spent the next few minutes discussing the anatomy of the creature this contraption was created for. Their options were endless, from large reptiles to avians and even mammals.
Their curious conversation continued until Aodhán remembered why they were here in the first place, and they quickly gathered around a black marble pedestal at the center of the room. Compared to the other contraptions within the workstation, the black pedestal almost looked innocent, if not for the series of rune-inscribed chains hanging from its sides and a small carving on the top that read: For creatures below tier 25.
The pedestal was perfect for what Aodhán had in mind, and without hesitation, Aodhán summoned a frozen block of ice from his spatial storage. The block appeared on the pedestal with a thud, and Aodhán grimaced when he saw the frozen expression of a Rithclaw within it.
“Yep.” Yurin grimaced and took a step back. “This is definitely torture.”
Andrew, who was still mad about how he had killed the plants back at the Nature Laboratory, glared at him and scowled. “Are you going to kill it?”
Aodhán took a deep breath and sighed. “No, I don’t intend to kill it. This is an experiment, remember?”
“But what if it dies?” Andrew pressed.
“Then I’d say better it than some poor sleeper. Look, guys, we kill these creatures every time. In the last dungeon dive, how many did you kill, Andrew? 12? 15?”
Andrew shifted uncomfortably. “It... it’s different. Death on a battlefield is vastly different from death on a cold black pedestal that says suitable for creatures below tier 25.”
Yurin nodded in agreement, but before Aodhán could respond, Daruk shattered the block of ice and converted it to water, letting the whole thing cascade to the floor and drain into the sinks embedded below.
When they all turned to look at him, he shrugged. “You guys are bickering like…I’m a feminist, so I won’t say girls, but I’ve got a pile of books to read, and you’re wasting my time.”
Aodhán snorted, and they all laughed, including Daruk, who had been doing his best to mimic a certain nonchalant professor with his expression. Daruk’s actions did get them to focus, though, and before the Rithclaw could regain its senses, they already had its limbs tightly chained to the pedestal.
The Rithclaw growled in growing agitation as the chilling effects of the cold slowly wore off, but Aodhán was prepared for that. He took out a rune-inscribed syringe from his spatial space, filled it with the anesthetic he had gotten from the hospital, and injected it into the Rithclaw’s shoulder.
The effect of the anesthetic was immediate, and as the Rithclaw’s consciousness slowly reduced to a state of dormancy, Andrew quipped. “Well, at least it’s comfortable.”
Aodhán chuckled, and just like he had seen many scientists do, he began speaking even though there was nothing to record his words. “The first test subject, #Rithclaw1, is now fully sedated and ready for the experiment.”
His friends raised eyebrows, and Andrew shook his head, muttering, “He’d lost it. Oh, I always knew this day would come.”
Aodhán ignored them, and with only a bit of hesitation, he activated {Merge}, transforming his fingers into long, sharp claws. Carefully, he made a cut on the Rithclaw’s belly, smiling in relief when the creature barely reacted, but his smile disappeared when he heard Yurin mutter something about mad scientists from behind him.
Not bothering to respond, Aodhán focused on his task, and with a small flex of energy and willpower, he activated {Lightning Beam—Green}, reducing the intensity of the skill to a small torrent before channeling it directly into the bleeding wound.
The Rithclaw jerked a little as the torrent of green lightning rushed into its body, but rather than explode or mutate like Aodhán had expected, the wound sealed, the skin smoothing over as though it had never been torn.
A wave of relief washed over Aodhán, and he laughed. “It worked! By the Ascendants, it worked! It’s a healing skill after all.”
Daruk grinned as he inspected the still unconscious creature, but then his expression turned sour, and he asked. “If it’s a healing skill, why then is it hurting plants?”
Aodhán frowned and glanced at the healed wound, now wondering the same thing. If {Elemental Lightning—Green} was truly a healing skill, then it shouldn’t have such terrible effects on plants.
“Perhaps it's only compatible with humans.” Yurin offered, but Aodhán shook his head.
“The Sylvael lightning is a mix of verdant energy and lightning. If it’s compatible with anything, it would be plants, not animals. But perhaps, because it’s corrupted…
He trailed off, his thoughts going off in an odd tangent, but Daruk’s next words shook him out of it. “Whatever the answer is, we’ll figure it out. We have a lot of test subjects after all.”
Aodhán nodded in agreement. He raised his claws again, and Andrew sighed, “Aaaand we’re back to cutting.”
Aodhán ignored him, and this time he made a deeper cut, causing the Rithclaw to jerk as the pain probably pierced through the sedative haze around its mind. It calmed down almost immediately, and Aodhán repeated the process, channeling a larger amount of lightning into the bleeding wound.
The Rithclaw jerked again and even let out a whimper of pain as lightning rushed into its body. Daruk, Andrew, and Yurin leaned forward to observe the process closely, and at first it seemed like nothing would happen, but after a few seconds, the gash sealed itself again, leaving only a few spots of blood on the Rithclaw’s gray fur.
Aodhán grinned in excitement as he observed the now healed wound for any mutations or odd stuff. His grin widened when he found none, but just as he began to internally celebrate, his enhanced perception picked up a subtle yet consistent trembling in the Rithclaw’s left hind limb.
He pointed at the trembling limb and asked. “Can you guys see that?”
The others peered even closer, and after a few seconds, Yurin nodded. “A faint trembling. It might just be nerves, though; you should probably try a more serious injury to be sure.”
Aodhán did just that, this time tearing a gash so long that it almost split the Rithclaw’s belly in two. He grimaced as blood poured out onto the marble surface, and from the expression on the faces of the others, it was obvious that none of them were comfortable with this experiment. Even Aodhán felt slightly nauseated, so he decided to hurry the experiment up.
This time he infused willpower into {Lightning Beam—Green}, considering the extent of the wound, and channeled the torrent of green lightning into the Rithclaw’s belly.
The Rithclaw spasmed, its eyes snapping open from pain as lightning dove into its belly. Chains rattled, and a pained roar echoed within the workstation as the gash slowly began to heal, making squelching sounds as the hide knitted itself back together.
Halfway through the process, though, the Rithclaw spasmed again, the motion so violent that the pedestal itself shook. Blood pooled, and the newly healed skin darkened as a sickly green web of insidious energy began to spread outward from the site.
Aodhán leaned forward, trying to get a better view of this new development. The purplish-green web spread out like tentacles, seeming to spread through the tissues rather than the Rithclaw’s veins or arteries.
“What’s going on?” Andrew asked.
“I’m not sure.” Aodhán replied as he placed a steadying hand on the Rithclaw and frowned in growing unease as its breathing grew erratic. He was just considering cutting the skill off when the greenish web suddenly grew more pronounced, lurching forward to engulf the Rithclaw’s entire belly in an instant.
The Rithclaw convulsed and let out an agonized cry, smashing its skull against the marble pedestal in a violent attempt to escape its pain.
Aodhán cut the skill off immediately, concerned and more than a little disgusted with himself for not cutting the skill off earlier. Cutting off the skill had little to no effect, though. The greenish web didn’t stop growing, and neither did the Rithclaw’s pain lessen. It jerked and spasmed, and despite their best efforts to stabilize it, the Rithclaw refused to stay still.
However, things only got worse when the insidious web reached the Rithclaw’s chest. It screamed and arched so violently that its spine snapped, spraying blood, metal, and viscera everywhere.
The blood drenched them all, filling the air with the coppery scent of metal, and Aodhán finally admitted. “Perhaps it is torture after all.”