She isn't here

Felix thought as he walked inside the Star's meeting room. Rose was always the first to arrive for their usual half-hour morning meeting.

He walked to his seat and looked at the calendar. It was Friday, and there would be no meeting on this day.

Haa... Why didn't I check it first?

Felix took out some papers from his bag. He had to do some paperwork for some upcoming events and also manage the current structure of club members from the first year.

The dark chocolates he had bought for her would have to stay in there for now.

As Felix got to work, after ten minutes, Stella entered the room. She saw Felix at the table and didn't go in. But after a few minutes, she walked in. Her strides were confident and furious. She took her seat far away from him and started writing.

Not even once did Felix turn her way and acknowledge her presence. It was the best thing to do for him and her sanity.

For an hour, neither said a word and went on with their work. Felix finished his. He took the papers and walked to the front desk. He stapled them and put a note on top:

"Finished with organising the budget for the archery, sword, and mage clubs."

As he was about to leave, he peeked at Stella's paper. At a glance, he could tell she was struggling. It made sense; she had always been like that, bad with numbers.

Stella noticed Felix's stare.

"You've got a problem?"

"No. Rose might have if she sees what you have done."

Felix's reply made her even more mad. But there was no denying she was making a mess of the work.

Should I help her? No, she would rather do the work a thousand times than get my help. But Rose might push it onto him if she fails. What a pain.

Felix sat, wrote something on a paper, and put it on the table a few inches away from Stella. She frowned and looked at him, but he walked out of the room without saying anything.

Stella didn't touch the paper and went on with her work. But after fifteen minutes of getting nowhere, she banged her head on the table.

"Rose is too busy to help me, so I can't ask her. Oscar isn't good with this stuff as well, and he is usually out for training and meetings."

Stella did have friends who could help her. But these paperwork weren't meant to be seen by them, so she was all on her own. Except for the paper in front of her. It was meant for her, but she'd rather cut her hand than take it.

But her stubbornness would cost the team. She reached out her hand. It shook just to take the paper. Just the fact that Felix kept it there for her was revolting. And more revolting was that she had to take it.

She took it. The format for the documents was there. And the way it had been written, dumbed down was easy for Stella to understand. There were no complicated words. He had circled anything hard and given the formula for it. It was the perfect guide.

And she hated it. She hated that he still understood her well. However, for now, she had to swallow her ego and finish her work.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Felix entered his training chamber. He found a note stuck on the inside of the door. It said that the apothecary room he had asked for had been created, just when he needed it. He was headed there.

The room was next to Professor Ian's office. They had designed it to appear like a storage room for the professor rather than a personal laboratory for a student.

As Felix reached for the door handle, Professor Ian walked out from the adjoining room.

"Anti-social Felix. You must be eager to see your new room."

"Yes, professor."

Felix replied with a thin smile. He didn't like being called anti-social. It wasn't just rude; it was the truth.

"You deserve it," Ian said, twirling his moustache. "I hoped they wouldn't place it in the darkest corner, but at least it stays a secret this way."

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"It does," Felix said, gripping the doorknob. Ian's presence, his face made his stomach turn.

"If you need help, come to the next room. I consider myself a reliable professor."

Ian flexed his biceps, snorting like a bull.

"I will," Felix said. As Ian walked away, Felix quickly stepped into the room.

That was close.

He took a deep breath. Ian's bald head and the weird moustache made him a lot scarier than other people.

Felix glanced around the room. The room was small, but it was sufficient. Bundles of lavender, rosemary, and sage hung from the ceiling, filling the air with a soft, earthy scent.

In the centre stood a sturdy workbench. A cauldron sat nearby, waiting. Tools were scattered about—mortar and pestle, bottles, and flasks. To the left, shelves held glass jars and ceramic containers, all labelled. The ingredients inside—mandrake, Silverleaf, and other herbs

To the right, rows of potions and vials glowed faintly. In the far corner, a crystal ball rested on a pedestal, with incense smoke curling around it.

Felix stood still for a moment, taking it all in. This room was better than the one he had before at the family mansion. He had made many mistakes setting up that space. The ingredients needed proper storage. Otherwise, the air ruined them, and sometimes the fragrance of different flowers and potions caused poisoning, which he had found out the hard way.

Felix walked to the right, where the potions were, and examined them. There were common potions, like healing and strength-enhancing potions. Most were F-ranked. Yet some items here were expensive.

"They even got me a wyvern's blood. And it's not from an ordinary wyvern."

Felix, impressed, looked around the room, noting the ingredients. Then he got to work. He donned gloves, a mask, and a hair cover. He moved to each shelf, pulling out the ingredients and setting them on the central desk and started working.

If anyone saw him work, they would think he came from a family of alchemists. Not once was he distracted. The concoction required precision. One mistake, and he would have to start over. Buy the ingredients, and clean the room, and the fear of messing up would distract him. He had endured his fair share of failures, and each time, it was hell to restart.

Felix worked for an hour in the chamber. Sweating and proud, he poured the final product—a red, gooey substance—into a small potion flask.

He stored it in a box filled with ice crystals, removed his equipment, cleaned the area, and glanced at the time.

It was eight in the evening. Now all he had to do was wait. Wait until tomorrow night, when he would play his part, and Lim would play his.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Lim took deep, slow breaths as he approached the edge of the forest. His body and mind screamed for him to turn back and leave. But he couldn't keep running from it. He had to face it, especially with someone waiting and willing to help him.

Lim could see Felix standing in front of a tree. He seemed to be carving something into a tree. Lim stood behind him and peeked over his shoulder.

"Is that a penis?"

Felix didn't respond. He tossed the stone and feigned calm.

"It's a dragon… um, a newly born dragon. They have little hairs on their ears and really… long mouths."

"I don't see any eyes, though."

"I'm not an artist" Felix replied.

Lim could only shake his head. Sometimes, Felix seemed the most mature and responsible person he knew. Other times, he felt like the most childish.

"Be ready and wait here. I'll go in and lure it," Felix said before stepping forward.

"Wait. I don't think it's a good idea for you to go in alone and lure the ghost. First of all, we don't know where it is. Its powers are unknown. It could get you before you get it out of the forest. And fighting it where others can see us isn't smart. We should go together."

Lim hadn't just sat, cowering. He wanted to rid himself of the ghost as quickly as possible. He had thought of many plans, which led to nothing. Fear held him back. With Felix's "do or die" plan, he had to step up.

"Okay. Then come with me."

Felix agreed with Lim's plan. It came too easily. Felix's plans usually had holes in them. Then it dawned on Lim. Felix never intended to lure the ghost out. He wanted to ensure Lim was there.

I walked right into his trap, Lim thought as Felix led them into the forest.

Lim donned his night glasses and trailed behind Felix. They walked the same path they had taken three days ago. After fifteen minutes, Felix stopped.

"Cast a light spell, Lim," Felix instructed.

Lim cast the spell, and a small ball of light floated above their heads. Felix kicked the leaves aside and picked up a stick. With it, he began drawing a mana circle.

From inside his coat, Felix retrieved a square piece of meat wrapped in paper. He placed it in the centre of the mana circle. Then he took out the potion from yesterday and poured it into the circle.

The red slime-like liquid crawled around the circle, meeting in the middle just below where the meat lay.

Felix then moved to one of the bushes and hid in them. "Lim, pour your mana into the circle until the liquid boils. Turn off the light and come here."

Lim didn't know what was happening or what was about to occur. He had many questions but felt too scared to ask.

With his fingertip, he poured mana into the circle. The liquid boiled, and steam rose from it. He dispelled the floating light and hid behind Felix.

Now, all he had to do was wait for whatever was about to happen.

The liquid continued to boil, cracking like firecrackers. Then it began to move into the meat. It soaked up the potion until the colour changed to something that hadn't been stored properly, dark and bleak.

Then nothing happened. Lim looked at Felix and back at the meat. After a while, the meat began to convulse as if it were alive and in pain. It broke apart into a mush of flesh, growing and expanding.

The mush began to form a structure. It formed legs, then thighs, slowly moving upward until it became human.

A human with no skin, eyes, lips, or anything that defined humanity. It was just a tall mass of flesh in a human shape.

The smell was of rotten meat, potent enough that even from a distance, Lim could detect it. He had to cover his nose. Felix, on the other hand, inhaled deeply.

He didn't enjoy the stench, but the potency signalled that his potion had worked wonders.

"What in the world did you make?" Lim asked, horrified. What he saw wasn't apothecary; it was black magic.

"You did it. It's made from your mana. Look, its head shape is just like yours."

Felix said, and Lim frowned. He was ugly but nowhere near that level.

As he was about to respond, he felt chills run down his back. That thing was here. He could sense it. His fear alerts him.

"Get ready," Felix said, holding a knife and looking at Lim. Lim didn't look back. His eyes were glued ahead as he watched the face of his worst nightmare move toward the mass of flesh.