Chapter 39: Hallucinations and Specks of Light

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Chapter 39: Hallucinations and Points of Light

7:30 PM.
In the alchemy room of the Toxicology Department.

Sazo operated the bellows at the alchemy bench to maintain the temperature within the crucible. A greenish liquid, dense with tiny bubbles, churned inside, releasing ribbons of cyan smoke into the air.

Minutes later, the moisture had evaporated, leaving a charred, crispy, yellowish-green crust on the walls of the crucible.

He used a sharpened spatula to scrape off the crust, ground it into powder with a mortar, and then poured in a pre-mixed potion, stirring the two together to form a base.

Adding three drops of ink-like willow cyan, the yellowish-green potion turned black.

He pulled the ring of the bellows, shifting the flame from low to medium. The area around the crucible grew hot.

To the right of the crucible was a storage cabinet for raw materials. Nailed to its side was a rectangular wooden box.

Sazo pushed up the side cover of the box, felt for a button inside, and pressed it gently. An automatic stirring arm unfolded from within.

He inserted the handle of a long-handled soup spoon into the slot of the stirring arm and placed a horizontal wooden peg through the hole at the end of the handle to prevent the spoon from slipping off during the process.

With a gentle tap on the joint of the stirring arm, it began to stir automatically.

This boiling stage was time-consuming, perfect for handling another basic toxin.

Sazo retrieved a cylindrical porcelain jar from the top of the toxin cabinet. It was about the size of a human head, uniform in diameter, and sealed at the mouth with three layers of oilcloth.

Peeling back the cloth, he revealed a pile of damp kelp strips, exuding a pungent, briny scent of the sea.

Sazo used tweezers to take out a piece of kelp and spread it flat on an iron plate, pressing the dark green seaweed against the smooth surface and taking a moment to carefully smooth out every wrinkle.

Under the glow of the alchemy lamp, one could faintly see several black, hair-like threads swimming within the kelp.

Sazo sealed the porcelain jar and returned it to its place. He moved the iron plate to another furnace, pulled the bellows ring to heat the plate with a low flame, and began brushing oil onto the kelp as if grilling. He flipped them with tweezers and brushed them again.

Pulling the ring twice more, the flame shifted to high.

Billows of white steam rose from the iron plate. As the kelp shriveled amidst the sizzling sound, the black threads struggled violently, but unable to escape the seaweed, they could only spin in circles inside.

Sazo lifted one end of the kelp strip, let the other end slide across the scorching iron plate, then flipped it to let the other side be baptized by the high heat.

Within seconds, the edges of the kelp curled inward due to dehydration.

He pulled the ring a fourth time, closing the furnace's air vent.

The fire inside gradually died down, with small holes on the side of the stove providing just enough air to keep the embers alive.

The residual heat of the iron plate toasted the kelp strips into brittle, yellowish-brown rods.

Sazo gripped the hot iron plate with large iron tongs in both hands and brought it to the edge of the crucible. With a puff of air from his cheeks, the dry rods drifted into the pot.

A layer of yellowish-brown foam surged on the surface of the liquid, and as the black threads surfaced, they disintegrated into dust.

A few stirs with the spoon turned the liquid a deep cyan.

Sazo glanced back at his mentor, who was still immersed in meditation on the soft sofa.

The fiery grilling process, both the noise and the smell, had not disturbed him. It seemed that the meditative state was not easily interrupted by the outside world.

He turned his attention back to the crucible.

The basic toxins had combined to form a composite toxin. When mixed with a specific solvent, it would become a finished poison.

He poured in the final ingredient—a large bowl of ginger water, the solvent for this batch.

It now required 10 to 20 minutes of simmering; the decision to stop would depend on the color and consistency.

As the pungent odor drifted through the room, the concentration of toxins in the air rose, and Sazo felt his health points slowly ticking down.

Over the past few months, Sazo had discovered another wonderful use for his "Perception" skill.

Previously, he had estimated the state of the crucible based on his rate of health loss, barely maintaining the quality of the poisons at a "Good" level.

It wasn't until one day, on a whim, he cast "Perception" on an unfinished potion in the crucible, that he realized how foolish he had been...

"Perception."

[Item Name] Cyan Bone Poison
[Item Type] Poison
[Item Grade] Apprentice
[Item Quality] Current Progress: 72%
Estimated completion to 93% in 15 minutes.
Estimated progress will drop from 93% to 75% after 21 minutes.
[Associated Resistance 1] Water Resistance
[Associated Resistance 2] Wind Resistance
[Associated Resistance 3] Earth Resistance
Once all three resistances reach 0.5%, the effect of this item on the host will be significantly reduced.
[Item Description] Created by Sazo.
[Item Effect]
After drinking the whole bottle, gain 1 stack of Vulnerability, increasing damage taken by 10% for 10 seconds.

Sazo waited patiently. At 14 minutes and 30 seconds, he turned off the furnace, cleaned the spoon and the stirring arm, and stowed the latter back into its box.

The cyan liquid in the crucible was about half full, enough to fill five tea-cup-sized glass bottles.

This was his second batch of the night; before this, he had already produced over twenty bottles of "Black Eye Poison."

Beyond these, on the shelf dedicated to finished poisons, there were a dozen bottles of "White Palate Poison" made months ago.

As long as they were stored properly, these poisons had a shelf life of at least three years. There was no need to worry about expiration, though one had to keep a constant watch for signs of leakage.

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Sazo lined up all the poisons he had crafted on the shelf and walked into the small classroom to call Anjouer.

"So many poisons!"

As soon as Anjouer entered the alchemy room, she let out a soft exclamation, then immediately covered her mouth, looking timidly at Kurov on the soft sofa.

Sazo gestured for silence.

Kurov was deadly serious only when making poison, and usually quite easygoing, but that was no reason to be disrespectful.

Sazo had once asked Kurov why he meditated in the alchemy room instead of a dedicated quiet room.

Kurov had replied with only one sentence:
"Making poison involves contact with toxins, and toxins can kill."

In the two hundred years since the Starry Night Academy was founded, no one had ever died from toxins.

The credit went primarily to Kurov’s rigorous scholarship and his sense of responsibility for his students' safety.

Secondly, it was the effect of the Spirit attribute.

Once the Spirit attribute exceeds 9 points, one can see elemental light. The higher the value, the clearer and brighter the light.

Sazo pulled Anjouer to the shelf and cast "Perception" on her.

[Spirit] 14

Since enrolling, Anjouer’s Spirit value had increased by 4 points, just 1 point shy of the minimum threshold to become a Mage Apprentice.

How could it have increased so quickly?

A string of questions flashed through Sazo's mind.

Perhaps everyone was different; some people were naturally suited to increasing their Spirit through reading.

Sazo felt that his own body might be the opposite, ill-suited for Spirit growth, and only by relying on his "cheat" was he barely keeping up with the academy students.

Otherwise, how could he explain that his initial Spirit attribute was only 1 point?

Suppressing his thoughts, he handed Anjouer a poison bottle the size of a small finger. "Take a look and tell me what's inside."

Anjouer held the vial above her head, examining the slender bottle and the viscous black liquid inside against the light of the alchemy lamp on the ceiling.

"Hmm... there is a faint cyan light swimming about, it looks like traces of wind elements, and there are small brown specks—these should be traces of earth elements."

Anjouer gripped the cork of the bottle. "Can I open it and smell it?"

Sazo nodded. "Sure. But this poison doesn't really have a scent..."

*Pop.* The cork was pulled out.

Anjouer flared her nostrils, inhaled, and closed her eyes, frowning. "It really doesn't have a scent. Hmm... let me think, I believe I’ve seen this poison in the 'Encyclopedia of Poisons'."

"Want to try it? You'll know what it is once you test it." Sazo grinned, curious about her reaction.

"Okay!"

Anjouer nodded, and in the next second, she downed the poison.

Sazo hadn't expected her to move so quickly, without a hint of hesitation. He hurriedly pulled her to a chair. "Quick, put your head on the table."

Anjouer blinked at him and drew a few circles near her ear.

The deafness effect of the poison was taking hold.

Sazo gestured for her to close her eyes and lean on the table, but she didn't react, only looking at him with dazed eyes.

Anjouer’s pupils dilated, and her irises gradually turned black, looking somewhat eerie.

Under the hallucination effect, everything in the field of vision would appear distorted. At the same time, once the pupils dilated, sensitivity to light would increase significantly.

Sazo had experienced the hallucination effect before, so he didn't dare move, fearing his actions might scare her.

"Cyan, red, brown, water blue... wow~ you have so many lights on you, like little stars. It's strange; I can't see them usually, but after drinking this poison, I can."

Anjouer squinted, the corners of her mouth curling up as if facing something beautiful and enchanting.

Now it was Sazo’s turn to be stunned.

So the hallucination effect of the Black Eye Poison was also influenced by the Spirit attribute.

It was one thing that the elemental light treated someone like him, who failed the Spirit attribute requirement, differently. But how could even the poison he made himself behave this way?

I am truly...

Sazo resisted the urge to cover his face and kept standing.

The one-minute effect passed quickly.

Anjouer’s body trembled slightly, her pupils returned to normal, and she smiled as she stared at the person before her.

"That was amazing! This poison helps me see more elemental light. Is this really a poison? Hmm... it must be Black Eye Poison, right?"

"Ahem, yes, it's Black Eye Poison." Sazo rubbed his forehead and mentally cast "Perception" on her again.

[Resistance]
[Wind Resistance] 3%
[Water Resistance] 2%
[Earth Resistance] 0 -> 0.007%

After drinking the Black Eye Poison, Anjouer had gained 0.007% Earth Resistance; the other two hadn't changed because they were already above 0.5%.

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While he was lost in thought, Anjouer walked to the shelf, took a second bottle of Black Eye Poison, drank it, and sat back down.

Isn't this a bit too reckless?

Sazo was shocked by her actions, immediately recalling the scene from their first anatomy class.

Under his encouragement, Anjouer had dissected a mouse, and then strongly requested another one...

This girl seemed to have a hidden wildness that would be unleashed if guided just a little.

I must be more careful in the future...

He stiffened again, letting her fingers tap lightly on him.

"One... two... three... hmm, they went inside. I can't see them anymore."

Anjouer withdrew her fingers in disappointment. After a few seconds, she smiled joyfully.

"Oh! They came out again. Let me count. One, two, three..."

Listening to her laughter, Sazo’s mood grew heavy.

If these colorful little specks of light represented elemental resistance...

After drinking the Black Eye Poison, Anjouer could see the resistance status on him.

Then... could the professors see it without drinking the poison?

It was almost 100% certain that his resistance gains over this period had not escaped the professors' observation.

Sazo pulled up his character template in his mind.

[Level] Lv. 11
[Experience] 1250/1400
[Resistance]
[Fire Resistance] 2%
[Water Resistance] 0+0.5% -> 0.5%
[Earth Resistance] 0+0.5% -> 0.5%
[Wind Resistance] 0+0.5% -> 0.5%
[Vitality] 14
[Perception] 4+1 -> 5
[Willpower] 3+2 -> 5
[Spirit] 2.8+5.2 -> 8
[Free Attribute Points] 0+1+2 -> 3

Over the past four months, he had been drinking his homemade poisons like water.

If he hadn't been restricted from taking them out of the Toxicology Department, he would have carried a whole bag of poison to drink while reading and during classes.

His water, earth, and wind resistances had all reached the peak for an Apprentice Alchemist.

Now, drinking Apprentice-level poison only yielded basic experience and a very faint reward to the Willpower attribute.

With the returns from poison diminishing, he had shifted his focus to reading.

He had absorbed all 25 textbooks from the seven general alchemy courses into his [Knowledge Reserve], which granted him a total of 4.8 Spirit points, with the remaining 0.4 coming from extracurricular reading.

As things stood, he believed he could pass the general course exams without any issue.

He was still hesitating about what rank to aim for and what facade to maintain, never imagining that his resistance changes might have been exposed to the professors the whole time.

Sazo glanced at the soft sofa with a complex expression, though he didn't feel too worried.

In the second month after school started, Mason and Brandon had both made mistakes and were forced to transfer to the Pharmacy Department.

From that moment until now, he had spent two months alone with Kurov and could feel that the man’s kindness and easygoing nature were not an act, but his true character.

"Sigh, take it one step at a time."

Sazo sighed silently, wiped the melancholy from his face, forced a smile, and picked up a tea-cup-sized bottle of poison.

"Want to try this? Cyan Bone Poison. The effect is very short, only 10 seconds."

Anjouer sensed his low spirits and lowered her head, murmuring, "Did I do something wrong?"

"In the whole academy, the person who knows me best is Kurov, and the second is you..." Sazo reached out and touched the bun on top of her head.

"No, I was just thinking that my Spirit ocean development is still a bit behind..."

Anjouer grabbed Sazo’s hand, shaking it slightly, and looked up with a smile.

"It's okay, I'll wait for you. We'll become Mage Apprentices together."

Sazo patted her head. "Stop pulling, the professor is still behind us."

"Oh."

Anjouer picked up the tea-cup-sized poison bottle and looked at the clock on the wall. "It's 8 PM, should we go back?"

"It's already so late."

Sazo pondered for a few seconds and said, "Let's go back to the dormitory. If you don't have class tomorrow night, I'll teach you how to make Black Eye Poison."

"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!"

Anjouer nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with anticipation.

(End of chapter)