“Are you sure about it?” one of the guards asked.
“Look at it yourself – the runes are blinking!” the other replied. “This only happens when the tanks drop below 25%.”
The first guy raised an eyebrow.
“Is there’s something wrong with the enchantment?” he asked again in disbelief. “The potions are meant to last 15 years. Didn’t we refill them like… 4 years ago?”
But the other one shook his head.
“No way. I’d buy that if it was just one type of potion, but it’s several. Maybe there’s a leak in the room or something.”
“That’s even less likely…”
Percy tried his best not to show any reaction as the attendant led him out of the corridor. Hopefully, he wouldn’t get Leo in trouble. Then again, he didn’t feel too guilty about it, all things considered. The boy wouldn’t have even been alive right now if not for him, nor would he have stood a chance of recovering without robbing the academy clean.
The good news was that the inhalables had done their job. Leo’s mind had stopped absorbing mind mana past a certain point, the network of memories in his head having reached a more complete state. Or at least, that was how it appeared from the outside. Percy hadn’t interfered during the last several hours, allowing the network to heal by itself. That lessened the pain he felt, giving him a chance to focus on his own training.
‘Why is he taking so long though?’
By now, Leo’s mind felt about as healthy as Percy’s other hosts, so he was confident it wouldn’t just crumble once he was gone. However, he couldn’t shake the worry that Leo might remain in a coma.
‘Well, if he doesn’t come to his senses by the time I leave, I’ll drop him in a public space. The local healers will take it from there.’
It wouldn’t be ideal, as Leo would be forced to answer all sorts of difficult questions about the last month, without Percy’s guidance. Even worse, his second core had also taken form, which was bound to raise a few eyebrows by itself. But there was only so much Percy could do about it.
‘At least he doesn’t know of my other secrets. Maybe they’ll let him be after the initial commotion. Though I still don’t know if the Moirais’ Decree gets passed down to one’s children.’
There was a good chance that even the Moirais themselves couldn’t answer that. Some Decrees – like Phoebe’s and Ea’s – were obtained through bestowal, while others – like Iapetus’s – were clearly inheritable. Some might even require one to be born on a specific world.
He sighed. He didn’t like the idea of spreading such a powerful Decree on every planet he visited, but he wasn’t going to start murdering his hosts to prevent that either.
‘It’s probably best for Remior if it’s inheritable, actually…’
Regardless, things would be so much simpler if Leo woke up soon. It would give Percy a chance to coach the boy and do some damage control.
Alas, his host’s recovery had helped him indirectly too, in the chamber. Once he stopped absorbing all the mana in there, the potions had finally begun to work as intended, letting him maximize his gains in the training room.
In fact, Percy grinned as he thought about everything he had achieved, not only in the Wiseman’s Chamber, but during this entire trip. He’d registered a new alchemic principle, learning to brew pills, gels and inks. He’d also studied the theory enough that he felt confident in reproducing any other transformations by himself, should he need them in the future. Dugris had even taught him how to draw the tattoos, giving him all the tools to elevate the trollsfury potion to the next level.
Then, there was the knowledge he’d obtained about the peak factions in the universe. Granted, he still had to find a reliable way to actively travel to those worlds, but he at least had a clearer idea of how to reach his goals.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
He’d also squeezed nearly half a year’s worth of training in the past week alone, establishing a firm foundation in pre-casting, and registering a brand-new spell in the process.
Finally, the extent to which he’d familiarized himself with the air affinity couldn’t be overstated. He might not be as proficient with it as his soul and pure cores, but he could probably handle himself in a fight, and even start developing some interesting combination spells with Micky.
‘There’s only one thing left to do here…’
Thanking the attendant for his service, he bid him farewell before heading off. He still had a couple days left until the Mana Flow lecture, and he desperately needed to get some shut eye before then.
Reaching his room, he dropped his stuff carelessly on the floor before falling face-first into his pillow, sinking in the soft mattress like a brick. Honestly, he could have used a shower – his body stank of sweat and caked blood – but he was too tired to care right now.
In fact, he hadn’t even bothered to close the curtains. The sunlight might be a little annoying at the moment, but he counted on it to wake him up in time for the class.
‘Well, based on Klatz’s personality, there’s a decent chance he’ll check up on me too…’ he thought as he dozed off.
Percy’s eyes jolted open as the relentless banging on his door continued. Coming to his senses took him a few seconds longer than he’d like. Sleeping had definitely helped, but he was still exhausted.
“Uggghhhh… I’m coming.” he groaned.
Glancing out of the window, he noticed it was dark outside. Sure enough, his pal wouldn’t let him sleep in on such an important day. And he wasn’t alone.
“Are you alright?” Lyn asked upon seeing him, her features contorting in concern.
“You look like crap.” Klatz frowned.
The two stood outside his room, holding a flat object covered in wrappings. It was about two by one metres across, as thick as his finger. Percy wanted to ask about it, but something else took precedence.
“How long till the lecture starts?”
“Half an hour…” Klatz replied, getting a nod back.
“Is that blood on your face?!” Lyn didn’t let up, however.
“It’s not as bad as it looks. Give me ten minutes to wash myself. I’d rather not show up in the auditorium .” Percy said, hurriedly grabbing a few things from his room while internally scrambling to come up with an excuse.
He’d told them about his advanced Alchemy classes, but he hadn’t mentioned the competition or the Wiseman’s Chamber. Poor Leo was already going to have a tough time explaining how he went from having zero interest in alchemy, to acing such a high-level class, then back to not even knowing what a cauldron was…
Lyn opened her mouth to say something, but he never gave her the chance, practically running towards the restroom.
“Feel free to wait in my room! You can drop that thing there if it’s heavy!” he yelled, not even glancing back.
“Sorry about the stench.” Percy chuckled.
Upon returning to his room, he found his friends standing outside again. He could tell they’d entered at some point, as they’d left the object they’d brought propped up against the desk, and even opened the window to let some fresh air in.
“Never mind that!” Lyn quipped, scanning him from head to toe, clearly searching for injuries. “Will you please explain what happened to you this time?”
Percy shrugged, having already decided on how to deal with this.
“Remember how my Alchemy teacher was an asshole at the start of the course? Well, he made it up to me by recommending me to enter the Wiseman’s Chamber.”
The kids gasped upon hearing that, and he didn’t really blame them for it, as this wasn’t the kind of opportunity the academy’s teachers randomly handed out. Though, in his defence, it wasn’t even a lie. Sure, he’d omitted a few details to downplay his competence in the subject, but this was truly how it all began.
Of course, his friends’ shocked expressions soon gave way to odd looks. Either they found it difficult to believe a teacher would be that generous, or they had a tough time seeing how he’d ended up covered in blood after some training.
Whatever the case, he didn’t let them press him on it.
“So, what’s that thing you were carrying?” he asked, pointing at the wrapped object with his elbow.
Lyn didn’t seem very thrilled to drop the topic that easily but, luckily, Klatz’s eyes lit up upon hearing his words.
Walking to his creation, the boy carefully tore the wrappings out, treating the object as gently as he would a baby. Percy was tempted to rush him, as the suns had already risen, meaning that they didn’t have long before the class started. But he didn’t have the heart to do that, seeing how excited his friend was. Not to mention that he might have still been asleep if not for them.
A painstaking amount of time later, Klatz was finally done, moving aside while pointing proudly at the object. It was a painting, and a damn beautiful one, too. It depicted three people resting on their backs amidst tall blades of blue grass. Two boys and a girl.
“Is that us?” Percy asked upon closer inspection, getting a grin back.
Looking back into the art piece, he noticed that what he’d originally thought to be a colourful ceiling was actually way too close to the ground. They’d easily bump their heads if they stood.
‘No. This isn’t a ceiling at all. Are those birds?’
There were so many of them, blending into a dense swarm. Each was small enough to fit in one’s palm, though only half of them shone in vibrant colours, the rest flying among them like shadows.
“The blumbins?!” Percy asked in disbelief. “Don’t tell me you got this done in the last few days?!”
It had barely been over a week since their little trip. And Percy could tell from the detail in the painting how much effort his pal had put into it. Probably dozens upon dozens of hours, which was even more impressive given how short days and weeks were on Felmara. Evidently, he wasn’t the only one who’d been working hard…
“Do you like it?” Klatz asked, his smile widening upon seeing his surprise. “I call it ‘Bonds’...”
“…And I want you to have it.”