*Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Chalice Theocracy*
Morning bells tolled through the marble corridors of the Ivory Gate Academy, their echoes climbing the stone arches like the voice of a watchful god - or what passed for gods now that the creators had been expelled and the covenant ruled instead. The sound was beautiful, in its way, though Aris had learned to hear the subtle discord in it: bells tuned for reverence, wielded for control.
Aris was walking to morning classes with Fox trotting beside him. The hallways were already filling with students, their voices echoing off marble walls.
Fox finally broke the quiet, his mental voice carrying that particular tone of concern he reserved for when Aris was being particularly self-destructive. "Aris, I don't like this. Sacrificing your health and soul to potions. I feel like you are changing."
"What else am I supposed to do? I am level one and I can only use the witness stone before dungeons. Making potions gives XP apparently, but not enough to use the stone daily."
"But those potions you are making are becoming dangerous too fast."
"Let me just... Okay." Aris gave up the argument. There was no point.
Aris took his place in the class. The room smelled of chalk dust and incense. Rathvoss entered and ordered some kids to spar with each other. Then he called Aris and a few other kids who were losing badly.
"Listen, not everyone can win duels consistently, but I took notes on you kids. You are not using anything useful or surprising in duels. Gursao!" He turned to a halfling boy.
"Yeah, sir!" Gursao straightened.
"How did you manage to enter the academy, gods damn it? You can only manifest a shield and can't fight for shit. Did your parents bribe you to enter?"
Some students laughed.
"Don't laugh, idiots. What do you think? Why you are here? You are all in the deep eighties." Rathvoss's gaze swept the group.
"Aris, is Light Missile your only attack skill?" Rathvoss asked.
Aris bowed his head. "Yeah."
"Then either learn to use a mace or learn another spell. You are not gonna fool anyone anymore." He continued to give demeaning lectures to other kids and finished with, "Idiots. Now go spar."
Aris thought, "I have to add some other spell to my arsenal, but what?"
He thought of going back to the library to research, but gave up on the idea. Instead, he went to pick out some herbs and then headed back to his lab. The basement was cool and dark, lit only by a few candles he kept burning.
When he entered, someone he'd never seen before was there. The man looked ancient yet ageless, with eyes that held centuries of knowledge but a face that appeared to be in its forties. His presence was menacing but calm, like he owned the place. Comforting yet threatening at once. He wore dark robes embroidered with silver thread, and his fingers were covered in rings.
"So you are the one messing with my room?" the man said.
"I am M. One student died here, you know."
Aris walked up to the secret books Lyra had given him and tried to cover them with his body.
"No need to cover anything. I am not restrictive of those who seek power. It's just that because of Chalice's low potential nature, I always insisted on forming better alchemy classes but never managed that."
Aris forced a smile. "Why is that?"
"Well, the High Priestess and our headmaster have other plans. Keeping education short and pumping graduates to every city, empire, and village to influence our religion."
"What do you want?" Aris asked directly.
"Power to change things. Bring chaos to order."
There was something irritating about him. His pale and skinny body gave too many wrong indications. The way he moved was too smooth, too calculated.
"There is something different about you," M said, studying Aris.
"Like what?"
"I don't quite know yet. I'll be watching."
When Fox entered the room, M glanced at the familiar with mild interest.
"Anyway, good luck with your trials. Duels are not important. You can pass the third dungeon even with random two idiots. Make sure you just show some teeth down there. I am responsible for this year's third dungeon setup."
With that, he left. His footsteps made no sound on the stone floor.
"What was that?" Fox asked.
"I don't know, but it can't be good," Aris replied.
After Mar left, Aris noticed some cracks behind the edge of the drying rack. When he pulled at it, he discovered a hidden section with two books stored inside. They were wrapped in oilcloth, protected from moisture.
The books had no names on their covers. Inside, they were all handwritten with instructions on how to make strong potions with blood and strengthen spells with those potions. The handwriting was meticulous, almost obsessive.
"What are these? Are these real?" Aris breathed. "Some formulas are like what I am doing."
"These must have killed the previous kid," Fox said grimly.
Aris found a potion recipe. When spilled on a shield, it gave a chance to bounce spells back. "With my luck, it's doubled. This is amazing."
And he saw another potion, combining every minor potion into one and giving amazing stats for a minor potion. The complexity was staggering.
"These are all excellent. I mean, it says chances are low, but I have a doubling feat."
Aris began to combine everything. The process was long and intricate. Measuring exact drops, heating at precise temperatures, stirring in specific patterns. When he got the described color for the shield potion, he felt it.
[Bzzt!]
"And I advanced in the alchemy title. Yes!!" Aris pumped his fist.
"I think you should also focus on learning spells. You have many openings," Fox advised.
"Later, later." Aris was already absorbed in the next recipe.
The next day, Aris rushed to collect his new potions and went back to the duel area. Today was scheduled for four matches. The great hall buzzed with energy, students warming up around the chalk circles.
He downed his potions. The mixture tasted like copper and honey. And faced another fellow human. When the human priest route kid sent him a light missile, Aris raised his imbued shield. The spell bounced back directly at the sender. The kid's eyes widened in shock. With the surprise, Aris pressed on with his missiles. And with the amazing effects of his new cocktail of potions, he produced eight missiles, hitting most. The kid went down fast.
Rathvoss barked, "Aris, didn't I tell you to practice new things?"
"It worked, didn't it?" Aris replied.
"Well, now we'll see for the future."
Some students were whispering. "Did he bounce the spell?" "How did he learn that?" "He is a one-trick pony," said the fae students, their voices carrying.
The next match was against the bearkin Gumo. Gumo entered fast and defeated Aris without Aris putting up any fight. The bearkin's raw strength was overwhelming.
The next match, he drew against a halfling. Both were too exhausted to finish.
And the last match was against a fae student, one of the kids who had cornered him a few weeks ago. The fae kid had observed Aris's bouncing twice and was smart. He never stayed in two spots, constantly testing the bouncing mechanic.
"It doesn't always bounce, does it?" the fae kid said.
"Test it yourself," Aris replied.
"Oh, I will." He produced a thorn whip, the magical construct crackling with green energy. "You tasted this last time. Let me give you one more taste again." He started pushing Aris toward the edge of the ring, forcing him out step by step.
Aris charged his light missile and secretly manifested it behind his shield. He sent his missiles at the fae student.
But the kid had already jumped to the other side and knocked Aris out with an ice ball to the back of his head. Cold exploded across his skull.
"Like the other kids say, one-trick pony."
Aris lay on the ground, vision swimming, as the fae walked away victorious.