Donovan led us to the same adult cafe where we ate before. I noticed a sign outside that read
Dana’s shanty bar and private rooms
today's special
Legs
The host was sitting at a table eating a plate of river eel and green potato scramble. Several waiters congregated around a bar to our left, each drinking something yellow and bubbly while they chatted. It looked like the place was still getting ready for the day's business.
As the host turned towards us with a welcoming smile, the professor nodded respectfully.
He held up a hand, waving as the woman said,
“What a pleasure to see you back so soon, honey.”
I knew the professor was older than he looked, but I couldn’t help feeling nauseous as the woman leaned forward, squeezing her chest together and blowing him a kiss. She then waved to a nearby waitress, beckoning her over as the host continued, saying, “Go ahead and grab a seat wherever you like and Stella will help you.” She paused to check something on her magi-phone, then with a wink she added, “Or I can send your favorite girl to your room, she got in so it’ll be a few minutes, but…” She trailed off as her eyes landed on Valentina, then to me. She smiled sweetly before turning her attention back to the professor.
Her cheeks were tinged with a shade of pink as she said, “unless you’ve got your own fun planned for—”
Donovan held up his hand saying, “No, Dana, Dexter’s my student and this his spell tome!”
She flinched like he’d struck her then looked me over again.
Shaking her head, she apologized, “Sorry honey, well he looks old enough anyway. If you want to stay and eat, feel free.”She shrugged then glanced to Stella before saying,
“I've got to get back to the kitchen.” She smiled awkwardly as she got up, then waved, heading behind a counter and down a hall that I guessed led to the kitchen.
We passed through the back door into the larger room where a variety of staff was setting up tables and games. As they laid out playing cards, chips, dancers took to the stage, setting poles and donning chains in preparation for their performance. I tried not to stare, but couldn't stop my gaze lingering a bit longer than it probably should have.
When I turned, I found Valentina blushing as well. Donovan and Kayla walked past us without pause as if they saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Following them to the same golden door we used last time, professor Kaylastal activated the rune and we stepped through to the quiet room with a desk.
The room was tidy and smelled of wild flowers. I saw no evidence of our last visit as I looked around.
Donovan went around the desk to take his seat and Valentina and I settled into the red cushioned chairs across from him.
Looking us over, Donovan smiled, then said, “let’s eat before we talk, I am starving.” Kayla nodded enthusiastically beside him.
Valentina and I both agreed and Donovan tapped on the desk, bringing up an interface that showed a variety of dishes, and also listed the sparkz required.
After placing his order he turned to me.
They didn’t have dual horn steak, but the steamed fish and rice soup looked good so I decided to try that.
The professor pulled out a pamphlet after submitting the order, laying it on the table in front of me. “You weren’t listening when I talked about the research program in class.”
He wasn’t asking, but I answered, “Not really. Didn’t see the point since I have practically no chance of getting into the program.”
His eyebrows arched as he pushed the pamphlet closer. “Let me be clear Dexter, I can’t guarantee that you’ll get in, but I can help and the perks are certainly worth the effort.”
He looked over to Valentina.
I scanned through the pamphlet and my jaw dropped at the description. The program would give me private accommodations, a weekly pay of two points and access to any research relevant records or materials.
The pay alone would be worth it. If I lived on one point a month, I’d be able to pay off my debt in just over three years. Even taking an occasional indulgence wouldn’t set me back by much.
Donovan cleared his throat, interrupting my thoughts and drawing me back into the room.
“Sorry, uhm… it sounds good, but what does it mean by relevant research?” I didn’t actually care about research, but I wondered… “Could I see detailed mission reports and records? From tome hunters for example?”
“Why would you want to see that?” He asked, sounding annoyed.
I shrugged and said, “I'm just curious…”
I wanted to tell him why, but I still wasn’t even sure what I was really looking for. I figured I’d start by finding out what my parents found. “Maybe. You can see relevant records, so if a mission relates to a research topic you’re studying then, it’s possible you could see the reports.” Donovan paused and stared at me, like he was considering something. Then opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again as a waitress came through the rune. She laid a tray of food on the desk between us. There were all sorts of dishes including soft cream drizzled in chocolate and large roast that looked eerily similar to someone’s backside. My bowl of fish soup was there as well. Amidst all the food was two glasses of juice and a full pitcher of the same.
Donovan dismissed the waitress with a wave, took a glass of juice and began eating as if he forgot that we were mid-conversation. I wasn't going to forget though.
Picking up my bowl and spoon, I sipped at the soup before adding another question. “Didn’t you say something about needing recommendations or something?”
Donovan nodded, saying, “You need three, but don’t worry about that part. For now, you need to stay focused on improving your skills. When it comes time for the ranking battle you need to be ready.”
He took a few bites before continuing, chewing slowly watching me as if he needed time to think or was trying to gauge my reaction.
I returned my attention to the pamphlet. In addition to the other perks, students in the research understudy program would receive guidance towards obtaining a second spell tome, and be given one free spell training session a month. Training sessions weren’t particularly valuable to me since Valentina could learn any spell in a duel, but with each session costing half a point, it was easy to see the value and how this program could definitely give an edge to any magister.
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I was so stunned at the opportunity, I didn’t notice Val reading the pamphlet over my shoulder.
She squeaked.
Her face lit up as she started jumping around with joy.
I didn’t understand why until I saw the last line of the pamphlet that explained all students of the research understudy program would be able to compete for rewards like mana crystals and magic stones that could be fed to spell tomes to increase their capacity for knowledge and power, or used by a magister to create spell like effects in a moment of emergency.
I had never even considered the possibility of getting such materials as one could easily cost five points or more.
Looking to professor Kaylastal, I asked,
“When is the ranking battle?”
He stopped mid-bite, putting down his spoon and saying,
“In a month and a half, Six weeks from today. I expect you to be prepared. And just to be clear, it isn't a fight like the dueling arenas, it's a tournament style event where all first years are ranked from first to last place. Those who rank high have the best chance to be invited to join the research understudy program, but ultimately anyone can—”
“Save that bullshit for the fools that believe it. The truth is, it’s all about connections right?”
He swallowed his mouthful, staring at me for a moment without acknowledging what I said before he continued, “The bottom ranked students may be expelled if they can’t prove that they can meet a certain bar of performance.”
My mouth dropped at his words.
The professor held up a hand as I opened my mouth.
He smiled as he said, “I’ll continue to support you how I can, but you better not embarrass me Dexter.”
----------------------------------------
Dr. Gaia’s POV
“My little glow toads, who wants to try this yummy mixture?” I sang, opening the aquarium.
Three little wrinkled and slimy faces popped above the water’s surface. They watched me closely, each opening and closing its mouth rapidly. I held out my hand and they swam closer, climbing on me one at a time. I patted them before bringing them up to eye level.
One, two and then the third croaked.
I was filled with a sense of joy and disgust as their mucous seeped from their skin and dripped down my arm.
“Only three of you then? I guess it’s for the best, today’s the real deal and I’d hate to start over training new roads if things go wrong.”
They didn’t understand me, but all three croaked in unison at my words.
I gently set them down, placing a little treat before each one. While they ate I readied three syringes of purified fire leaf extract. If the toads survived it would mean my experiment succeeded, but if not…I should have picked a different species to test on. Not only did I loath touching glow toads, but their anatomy was far more complicated than I expected.
“Mother would get a kick out of this if she could see me now.” I chuckled as I finished filling the last syringe. “You little beasts were her favorites to work with, but I really can’t stand you,” I said using the sweetest, most adoring tone I could manage.
My voice had a pleasant effect, soothing the toads. Each finished its treat, looking up to me. They made small popping sounds as their lips smacked. I placed the first toad into the test chamber. Then set the syringe in its socket and adjusted the dispenser pressure for a slow release.
As it began to lick up the liquid, I moved to the next test chamber and placed a second toad. Once both toads were properly in position and receiving the blue fluid, I moved to the final chamber with the last toad.
So far things looked good. Neither of the first two showed any outward reaction to the extract, but then I remembered how well they had been trained. I wouldn’t know for sure until about fifteen minutes after each syringe was empty.
As I sat in front of my final toad, the toad croaked again, staring into my eyes like it wanted to say something.
I held out the syringe to its mouth. The toad opened wide, licking the tip of the needle. He croaked again, then his tongue shot forth and twisted around the syringe.
The other two croaked from their chambers, the first had finished the extract, but the second was hopping madly against the lid of his box. His syringe still held a quarter of the extract.
My eyes narrowed as I tried to rip the needle free of the toad in front of me. He held it tight with his tongue, sucking it back into his mouth, and began drinking in the blue liquid.
I glanced at the second box where the other toad continued to bounce about in a frenzy. Then I slipped backwards into the aquarium glass.
The last toad had let go of the syringe. It sailed over my head and hit the wall above the aquarium with a dull clang.
As the liquid splashed from it, I rolled my eyes and grunted. “That was very bad of you! Do you know what could happen to your little glow toad buddies? What if they all die because of you?”
The toad croaked and I huffed, realizing I was wasting time.
It wasn't like him to act that way, he had always been so obedient. The other toad still hopped, croaking madly, as it banged against the top of its test chamber.
The toad in the first test chamber still wasn’t showing any reaction, so I decided to release the second toad, opening his chamber lid and sticking my hand in.
He didn’t hesitate to hop onto my arm and jump to my shoulder. His rough and slimy body clung to me and my flesh began to itch where he touched. I brought him to the waiting pool, where I’d observe until I was satisfied the extract had not harmed the toad before moving him back to the main aquarium.
I freed the first toad next, stunned at how still he was. His eyes rolled back and forth, tracking my movements so I knew he was alive, but that was about it. I set him in the waiting pool with the second toad. Then I returned to the third toad.
“Listen little guy, I need to make you a new yummy serum, but this time I need you to drink it, understand?”
His eyes darted left and right as he croaked. He obviously didn’t understand, but I didn’t like working with fewer than three subjects in a test. I prepared a new syringe and this time the toad lapped the extract without incident, drinking it slowly and in one steady stream.
The other toads both seemed to have wildly different reactions, the second toad darted about, swimming like a mad beast in the small pool, but the first just sat on a rock at the bottom of the pool, his eyes tracking the other toad as it passed back and forth above him.
As I dropped the third toad into the pool, he lunged at the overactive toad, biting and pinning him down. The active toad fought back, trying to wrestle away, but he couldn’t get free.
Within minutes the third toad killed the other two and I guessed that the fire leaf must’ve affected their psyche.
With a sigh, I told myself, “At least I neutralized the blood boiling properties of—”
The toad went still as his belly swelled, then he floated to the top of the pool.
“Another failure, and a new concern…Donovan better have some good news when he comes or I might just—URHG!” I growled as I punched the wall.
Then I recalled that some of the extract had gotten into the main tank.
“Vyx’s bloody ax, could this day get any worse?”
I climbed up to the top of the tank, but as I looked into the pool I realized it was already too late. Whether they ate the extract, or absorbed it through their skin, the other toads had begun showing the same signs as the ones who died. I jumped back, falling hard against the floor, landing on my butt and skidding backward into a shelf.
“You look a bit flustered,” Donovan said as he entered the back room of my lab. “Did something happen?”
I rubbed the back of my head where a dull throb started and looked at Donovan. He was grinning like a Mechanist at a half off gear sale.
I narrowed my eyes as he took notice of my experiment, then his grin dropped into a frown and his brow furrowed.
“What the hell did you do?” he asked.
I got up, shaking my head and hurriedly crossed the room. Two of the remaining glow toads jumped out of the aquarium as I pulled Donovan into the other room and shut the door behind us.
“Shouldn’t we…uhm?”
With a sigh, I answered, “No, they’ll die on their own in a few minutes. But you have good news for me, yes? Otherwise, what the hell was that grin about?”
He took a step back, then laughed, saying,
“Right, well, I have an update on the spell tome’s condition. Also the boy has agreed to strive towards joining the research program, so you’ll be able to keep a more direct eye on him.”
A smile crept across my face. “Excellent.”