A large portion of my brain initially resisted the idea of synthesizing and selling Adderall. In the old world, selling such an addictive drug would cause me to lose my medical license and probably face criminal charges. In this world, however, the rules were entirely different. It would be impossible for me to “do no harm.” No, I would have to make do with merely minimizing harm and maximizing the benefit I was going to bring to this world.
My plan was first to sell two drugs that I was absolutely certain would sell like hotcakes in Ferrum. Then, once I had established a significant foothold in the market, I would start to produce drugs that could actually help people like beta blockers, painkillers, and antidepressants. I was able to justify the sale of Adderall within my own mind by promising myself that I would never sell the formula for the creation of the “focus-drug” for as long as I lived.
The truth was that I hadn’t yet figured out how to make antipsychotics and antibiotics, however. The form of Transmutation that I had just invented - which I hadn’t yet named - would only work with Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. All forms of antibiotics and antipsychotics that I was aware of contained either Chlorine or Sodium. Even if I knew how to utilize five or six-point Transmutation circles, I had no idea how to use those two elements in my reactions. In their pure elemental forms, Chlorine is a poisonous gas, and Sodium reacts explosively with water.
Inside of a little wooden box, I held about 50 grams of the black powder that I had just created. Considering the purity of the product, I figured that about half a gram would be the approximate healthy dose for the average person. I had already prepared a wooden mold and dowel back in my room in order to create easily digestible pills.
I slapped the wooden box shut, hiding the black powder held within.
“Well, that’s it,” I sighed in relief and wiped the excess sweat from my brow. Unlike most others, I couldn’t claim that it was the heat of the flame that was making me sweat.
“Finally,” Nina said, closing the book that she had just been reading. The book was the Story of Lothar, the God of Judgment. “Hey, Thale. You’ve been working on this drug for a while now. What does it do?”
“It helps you focus,” I said, stepping out of the hideout with the wooden box under one arm. “Come on.”
“Focus?” Nina asked, following me out of the hideout. “What do you mean?”
“It would allow you to get all of your chores done without getting bored,” I put simply. I intended to sell this product, so I had prepared a few phrases ahead of time.
“Wow, that must be some powerful magic,” Nina said. “Can I use it?”
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
“No, it’s not for kids,” I said. I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of children using my illicit and highly addictive drug.
“And what about you?” Nina asked, annoyed by my answer. “Aren’t you gonna use it?”
“I’m probably going to use it once as I test, maybe,” I said. “I need to make sure it works as intended.”
“Well, that’s just unfair,” Nina sulked.
A memory entered my mind. I saw Nina Feldrast standing beside Thale as her childhood home burned to the ground. Though Thale’s face expressed sadness and regret, Nina’s face was a portrait of jubilation. Her father, the traitor, had finally been eliminated. His lands would naturally be inherited by his only child: Nina. With this, Nina and her husband would gain a tighter grip on Sableton, that perennially rebellious fief. Soon, there would be nothing that could stop them.
Nina Feldrast had been a prodigy second only to Thale. In fact, she had surpassed her husband in mind and illusion magic. The fight against her had been more annoying than difficult. It was skippable, thankfully. If the players had convinced Solana to join their side, Solana would fight Nina in their stead. There was only so much that illusion magic could do when you just lit the entire battlefield on fire.
Lost in thought, I slipped slightly as my cane slid against a wet stone. Nina reached out a hand to steady me, but I waved her away with a smile. To think that my state could be so wretched that a nine-year-old would think to aid me.
I wondered how the little girl in front of me could grow into such a contemptible villain. How had the same happened to Thale? Certainly, the [Sickly] Trait afflicting Thale wasn’t enough to justify the widespread use of necromancy, slavery, and summary executions.
We passed the sign I had placed on the side of the trail. There was no fence around the “off limits” area, so anyone that approached the hideout from a different direction would not even see the sign.
As we walked, I inhaled heavily and took a moment to enjoy that fleeting moment of youth. I looked over to Nina and thought for a moment about the future. I could, if I wanted, spend the rest of my life using the original Thale as a template. I could go to the Academy of Hinnom with Nina in six years and marry her a few years after. It would be a fine, modest life that most men would kill for. I could wait for my father to die in six years and spend the rest of my life ruling Northwind as a fair and cunning ruler, never turning to necromancy but never overcoming my physical limitations.
I could live the rest of my life in peace... all fifteen years of it. I would be twenty-five when Lothar appeared. It would be a short life, but it was much more than I deserved. Adding in the forty-five years of my first life, I would be well into retirement at that time.
A bare second passed where I looked at Nina, and I considered giving up on my mission. No, there were millions of people on Ferrum. If I had the knowledge to prevent their deaths, then I had the duty to prevent them. Duty. That word had haunted my dreams for more than one lifetime.
Without warning, a spasm went through my hand and a terrible, grating headache pounded against my skull. As if possessed, my hand shot forward a few inches as if it wanted to touch Nina's face. My other hand moved forward a second later and grabbed my possessed hand by the wrist.
Panic flowed through my mind. Was I being attacked by some outside force? I hardened my resolve to fend off any further attacks and regain control of my hand. An instant later, the spasm in my hand stopped, and I regained control. The pain in my head stopped, and I stopped feeling like I was under attack by some outside force.
"Are you okay, Thale?" Nina asked me for the second time in ten minutes.
"Yes," I lied.