Chapter 22 (part 1/2) - Preparations and Repercussions

  Back in the bathroom, his improvised workshop, Vincent got to work on his product. The knuckles on his right hand were bruised, and his meridians ached from the excess energy, but he could not afford to rest. He still did not know how the rumors of his confrontation with the resurrects would spread, nor whether the Tower would intervene if they chose to accuse him. For now, physical pain felt far more tangible than any future consequence.

  Since he had begun using ceramic from the circle workshop, officially under the pretense of preparing something to present, he noticed something interesting. His bracelet did not pulse when he used that material. That temporarily reduced his costs to two and a half silver towers per unit, leaving him with a potential margin of one hundred silver towers if he managed to sell the entire batch. The problem was the present. After buying the raw materials for the vaporizers and the gauntlet, he had only twenty towers left to his name.

  I will have to spend a few coins on a meridian recovery potion. It is not as bad as last time... but I am sure it will not let me sleep.

  He was no longer a useless husk. He was a resurrect. He even had his own alchemy kit now, and he felt capable enough to brew his own potions and save money.

  If I can make a restorative potion on my own, I could deliberately damage my meridians and repair them like muscles stressed under training.

  The idea was dangerous. He dismissed it, not out of prudence, but because of an obvious technical limitation. The last time, he had only been able to absorb energy from the artery by using another human as a buffer.

  If I want to attempt something that risky, I need the gauntlet...

  His gauntlet. His new project.

  He did not know how useful it would be in real combat, but every piece brought him closer to becoming a functional mage. With the gauntlet, he could channel simple phenomena through his hands. And now, in addition, he had a staff.

  Vincent looked at it, resting against a damp wall of the bathroom. It did not seem particularly expensive. Its construction was crude, almost rustic, but the mere fact that he had obtained it the way he did filled him with a different kind of feeling.

  After leaving the fabrication circles running, he dared to take it in his hands again. The staff was top-heavy, unbalanced by the accumulation of crystals at its upper end. As a walking stick it was uncomfortable, as a mace too fragile, but its presence was imposing.

  In his hands, Vincent felt powerful. Not like a scholar, not like an alchemist. Like a warrior.

  What he did not know was that, because of the way he had obtained it, the staff was no longer the same. Tearing it away after defeating three enemies who outnumbered him and surpassed him in raw power had altered its nature. In this world, tools absorbed meaning. Weapons, especially, responded to intent and dominion.

  This was Vincent’s staff. It belonged to him on a level far deeper than he could comprehend. It was common for adventurers’ weapons to gain strength after years of use, after being named and wielded toward victory again and again. In this case, the staff returned something more immediate. When he held it, he felt filled with energy. With confidence.

  “Luminosa ous urea notre dosta…”

  Vincent whispered, recalling one of the simplest spells he had practiced.

  Unlike complex incantations that required precise control over the meridians and a substantial flow of energy, this one demanded little more than intention. As he recited it aloud and poured a minimal charge of will into the staff, the embedded crystals did the rest. It was a simple illumination spell, but for the first time, Vincent was using magic properly.

  The staff’s quartz crystals began to glow, but that was not their only function. With a few additional words and a touch of concentration, the light detached from the tip and floated in the air, obedient. He could position it wherever he wished, leave it suspended like a sphere anchored in space.

  He walked through the bathroom, shedding fragments of light and leaving them hovering between the roots and damp walls. Then he tried another trick learned from the basic manuals.

  “Stafos!”

  He commanded the staff.

  With that single word, the staff remained upright on its own, perfectly balanced, without leaning against anything. The lights stayed lit even when he stopped touching it. The staff absorbed ambient energy on its own, sustaining minor spells without additional effort.

  Simply being able to create light puts me on the level of a light bulb... but if I manage to generate enough lumens, I could use it to blind an enemy.

  A future upgrade for the gauntlet.

  And the top of the staff... I could probably embed a circle in it too. Something simple. Defensive. Although I would have to polish it first.

  In this world, spiritual energy responded, in part, to aesthetics. A well-crafted staff, harmonious in its proportions, would likely channel energy better than one crudely carved. With his spherical lathe, he could refine the wood, engrave geometric patterns, integrate more precise runes.

  The time for going unnoticed was becoming less useful. Perhaps it would be more effective to walk around with a threatening staff, one that suggested power even before being used.

  He did not feel like being scolded by Lily, so he sent the signal to cancel their meeting. She did not comply.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Not long after, she appeared in the bathroom. She stopped short when she saw the scene: lights floating in the air, the staff standing upright on its own, Vincent working among vaporizers and what was clearly the remains of a broken weapon.

  “Vin? Are you okay?” she asked, bewildered at the brightness around him. “And that staff?”

  For a moment, Vincent considered lying. He could say he had bought it. That it had been a legitimate trade... but having a target on his back put her in danger as well. If Edgar and his men decided to escalate, she needed to know. Hiding the truth would not protect her.

  “Well... you see.”

  So he told her everything. From his encounter with Edgar, to the chase through the tower’s weightless core, to the confrontation in the circular chamber. Though he omitted the most dangerous details... and the full truth of how he had built his weapon.

  “That’s why they were stalling me!” Lily shouted, immediately connecting the dots. “A girl kept me busy in the triage ward, accusing me of setting her bone wrong. It wasn’t until a master cast a spell to make her flesh transparent that we saw she was lying.”

  “You treat regular people? Do you think Edgar planted someone from outside just to mess with you?”

  “Of course he did! I can’t believe you got involved with those two. No wonder no one called the custodians. They have contacts everywhere, and they can make your life miserable.”

  Vincent’s attempt to change the subject failed. He wanted to push aside thoughts of the possible consequences, but Lily was completely focused on them.

  “I don’t think they’ll dare report you,” she continued, lowering her voice. “And they won’t seek official treatment for the meridian damage either. They’ll look for some allied magister to tend to them in secret.”

  “Do you think what I did could kill them?” Vincent asked, more serious now.

  “If they were semi-conscious when you let them go, it shouldn’t. You separated them from the arteries after a few seconds. And your case was special, your meridians were damaged entirely. The resurrects you incapacitated only suffered localized damage. Even so... you put them out of commission for weeks.”

  Lily took his wrist without asking and closed her eyes, examining his internal flow.

  “Yours are sturdier than before... but you damaged them again.”

  “It’s the only way I can make them grow. I practice before going to sleep, but I only notice real changes when I overstrain them.”

  “...”

  She did not agree, but she could not fully refute him either.

  “At least now you have money to buy restorative potions.”

  “Speaking of that... do you think we could make them ourselves? I bought an alchemy kit for... another project. If we produce our own potions, we could save quite a bit.”

  Lily looked at him suspiciously.

  “You’re not producing drugs, are you?”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “You know exactly what I mean. It’s common to distill abstraction potions and sell the concentrate as a recreational drug for husks. It’s profitable. And dangerous. Promise me you’re not involved in that.”

  “Lily, please. I would never do something like that!”

  The truth was that he had distilled the abstraction potion... but not to sell it. He had no intention of getting into that business, at least not for now. Though if his knowledge of chemistry truly translated into alchemy, he was certain he could produce far more potent versions if he wished. And besides, his vapor pistol had left him with an idea lingering in the back of his mind.

  I could devise a more efficient method for administering potions... combining the principle of the vaporizer with that of the vapor gun. A fast-acting inhaler for adventurers. Immediate activation, no ingestion time...

  “Vincent!”

  “Huh?”

  “You went quiet for a moment. Are you hiding something from me?”

  “No, no... I was just thinking. You still haven’t answered me. Is it possible to recreate meridian recovery potions?”

  “It’s possible,” Lily replied, more serious now. “But not high-grade ones with a basic kit from the dispensary. Their components are expensive and require permits. The common ones, though... those we can make.”

  “Good. That’s enough. It’s already starting to hurt.”

  Before heading to the dispensary, they stopped by the library to look for manuals. Not only on potion-making, but also on other preparations Vincent wanted to study. Lily made small, almost casual comments, as if justifying why she had not been there when he needed her.

  Vincent had expected a flood of warnings, but none came. Instead, he noticed something different. Lily seemed... displaced. For years she had taken care of him. And now, seeing him capable of defending himself, of facing armed resurrects, seemed to have shifted something inside her.

  That feeling intensified when they entered the dispensary.

  “Vin! Long time no see!” Rin greeted him with exaggerated enthusiasm the moment she saw him, even more exaggerated than usual.

  Lily stiffened.

  “What are you talking about? We just saw each other,” Vincent replied, confused... until he noticed Lily’s uncomfortable expression and understood.

  Rin was provoking her.

  “Wow... it’s strange seeing you interact with others,” Lily commented with a forced smile. “You’ve grown so much in such a short time. You even have a friend.”

  “I wouldn’t call her my friend.”

  “We’re more like partners,” Rin added with calculated naturalness. “Or at least that’s what I’m aiming for.”

  The ambiguity lingered in the air.

  “What? W-what are you talking about?”

  Lily pointed at them alternately, slipping into a brief panic that contrasted sharply with her usual composure.

  “Nothing, she’s just playing. Rin, stop teasing her. We came to get ingredients for a meridian restoration potion.”

  “Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing your little sister,” Rin replied with mock resignation. In any case, they could not discuss the kind of “partner” she wanted Vincent to become with Lily present. “But I don’t know exactly what components that potion requires. I only know a few.”

  “I’m not his little sister. If anything, he’s the little brother,” Lily shot back quickly. “And as for the materials… leave that to me.”

  After purchasing what they needed for about two silvers and three pinches, they headed to Vincent’s room. It had been a long time since Lily had stepped into one of those dormitories… and it was the first time she officially entered his room.

  She took in the neatly made bed, the desk aligned with precision, and the small alchemy kit arranged with almost obsessive care. Everything clean. Everything meticulously organized. A faint sting touched her eyes.

  He was no longer the child she had to watch over. He was a man capable of getting himself into trouble… and of attracting attention.

  “Alright, take out the materials and start heating some alcohol. We need to distill these flowers before processing them.”

  She tried not to think about it. She knew Rin was only provoking her, yet she could not shake the strange feeling. Less than a month ago, Vincent had depended entirely on her. On her care. On her attention. And now another woman appeared with ambiguous smiles.

  It wasn’t jealousy… or at least that was what she wanted to believe.

  As Vincent began the preparations, Lily studied him more carefully. Objectively attractive. Now that he spoke with confidence, even charming. The thought unsettled her. Not long ago she had helped him bathe. She had never looked at him as a man. But now… now the result of all that care stood there, independent, growing. And the idea of another woman claiming what she had protected for so long felt unfair.

  “How about I filter this moss first? If we run it through several filtrations and then concentrate the result, we could get a purer base for the next step,” Vincent suggested, completely unaware of the turmoil unfolding beside him.

  “It might work… but wouldn’t you rather follow the standard recipe? I’m sure I can replicate it perfectly. If we experiment now, you might waste the materials.”

  “And does that really satisfy you? Where’s your spirit of discovery?”

  “…”

  Lily shook her head gently.

  She was being absurd. She had cared for him because of the bond they shared. Because he had saved her. Not out of possession. Not because she had any claim over him.

  Looking at him differently was a line she should not cross.

  She grabbed the mortar and began crushing the flowers with more force than necessary, forcing her thoughts into silence before they could turn dangerous.