Chapter 51: Chapter 50: The People’s Alchemist (2)

“Lem, head to the association and fetch us two stalks of Forlorn Bittercress.”

“Right away, Master Hoplin!”

Lem bolted out of the room, her face flushed with excitement. It was a critical moment for the Kingdom of Anthor, one that could change its fate forever.

“That lass…”

Elder Hoplin let out a sigh and resumed a seated position by a boiling alchemy pot.

“Forlorn Bittercress? Will that reveal the last ingredient?”

Sans asked from the other side of the bubbling brew. Currently, they were in the back room of Herbs and Cauldrons.

“If my theory is correct; at least when combined with the Undine Plasma we have. Still, It’s frustrating.”

Elder Hoplin grumbled as he rested his chin on his hand. Sans shook his head, already expecting the old man’s tirade as this wasn’t the first time he’d made such a comment.

“We could have made much more progress if that damn officiary didn’t waste so much of our time! Bah! I should have chased him off with a stick!”

A bit after everyone had gathered at the shop, the king’s officiary came by with a stack of papers in hand. Stubborn till the end, the wretched man wouldn’t leave even after Elsie and Lemma proved ownership, which took the form as a demoralizing mound of paperwork. Next, he demanded that the building could only be run by an upper ranking alchemist, but once Sans revealed his elder’s alchemist token, the officiary could only leave with a belly full of hot air.

“Don’t mind it, really. Still… I never thought to use Forlorn Bittercress and Undine Plasma. That combination, wouldn’t that suggest the possibility of… hmm… no, no—that would be too evil.”

Sans mumbled his words toward the end, but Elder Hoplin’s solemn expression only deepened as he responded.

“What you’re thinking is exactly what I’m thinking. It could be beastmen blood essence, one with extremely special properties.”

Save for the low gurgle from the pot, the room grew quiet as they waited for Lem to return with the key ingredient. Sans stirred the pot with a ladle in thought. Glancing at Elder Hoplin, he broke the silence.

“I don’t want to believe it, but I can’t think of a single herb that would have a similar effect. For beastmen, their blood contains their essence. Their talent and abilities are passed through bloodline. Forcefully taking away their blood essence is the same as killing them slowly.”

Even though he had never met a beastman in his life, he somehow had vivid memories of the properties of their blood essence thanks to Doctor Lazure. Elder Hopling remained silent as he stared at the pot. Sans continued speaking.

“What gave you a hint that the creator behind Twilight Fel could be using beastmen blood essence?”

“The king’s servant; she’s a beast woman, and a powerful one at that. I’ve only seen her once before in passing. She appeared elegant from a distance, but up close… the scars that crossed her face spoke of her hardships. I could feel her unbridled wrath within the air itself—it was suffocating to be in her presence to say the least.”

Sans drummed his fingers against his chin as he listened.

“There’s a couple implications in what you’re saying. First off, are you implying that the king is creating or distributing Twilight Fel?”

He stirred the pot of liquid as he asked. Meanwhile, Elder Hoplin scowled with a harumph.

“Not just implying, but I know so! It has to be him! Twilight Fel didn’t exist until 20 years ago. Only when the king and his accursed advisor returned from the tenth floor did the drug run rampant.”

“I see… do you have proof?”

Sans asked nonchalantly, but internally he was fighting his own demons. The king was the man he was supposed to assassinate, according to the tower’s trial. The thought of potentially killing an innocent man, let alone a well-natured fellow, was constantly eating away at his conscience day and night. However, should the king turn out to be less than savory… well that would ease his troubles by a significant margin.

Still, I don’t want to attack a man that has done nothing to me—even if he’s a plague on society.

“I don’t have any physical proof, but I know it to be true. It was the last coherent thing my wife had said to me.”

Elder Hoplin grimaced, troubled by his thoughts. Sans held up two fingers and spoke once again.

“Alright, secondly. Are you suggesting that this beast woman is assisting the king with her own blood essence? If she’s as powerful as you suggest, why would she do that? Isn’t that the same as killing herself?”

Elder Hoplin shrugged and let out a sigh.

“I’m still working on that theory… I don’t know, but it’s the only idea that makes sense considering there’s no other ingredient that could work. Also, do not underestimate the king’s power; he could always be forcing her to do so. ”

“Perhaps you’re right. Although… I hope you’re wrong. Regardless, if this portion of the process is accurate, I was thinking if we tried to use Andromeda Petals, we could then reverse this effect of the toxin. Then…”

Sans shared his thoughts with his collaborator. His actions remained animated as he tried to dispel the melancholic atmosphere just prior. It didn’t take long for Elder Hoplin’s eyes to shine with brilliance as they battled ideas back and forth.

Eventually, they were interrupted by a certain woman.

“I’m back! I have the Forlorn Bittercress!”

Lem burst into the room, breathless and heaving.

“Foolish girl! Did you sprint the entire way? Have some elegance!”

Despite Elder Hoplin seemingly berating her, he was all smiles upon taking the two stalks into his hands. Sans could easily see that this was a common interaction from the smile on Lem’s face. Without responding, she took her seat at the side of the room and watched on with brilliant eyes.

“Quickly, bring it here.”

Sans ushered the old man over with his hand outstretched.

“Refine this one, I’ll keep the second for backup.”

Elder Holpin stowed away the spare and passed over the stalk. His face grew taut with tension as he watched Sans summon a bowl of minty flames. Sans wordlessly shrouded the stalk in fire with utmost care, allowing it to melt away into a shimmering pool of pale purple.

“Now, mix it in with the Undine Plasma-“

“Yes, yes.”

Sans waved his hand, sending the refined stalks of bittercress directly into the pot before them. Elder Hoplin took the ladle within his hand and increased the fire underneath. He let out a sigh as he watched trails of gas escape the mixture.

“Reducing this… it’ll take some time.”

“Nonsense, let me handle it.”

Sans smiled and sent a stream of fire directly into the liquid.

“You’re mad! You’ll burn it like that!”

Elder Hoplin exclaimed with a horrified expression.

“Not if you’re skilled enough…”

Sans muttered as he controlled the flames to spread throughout the pot evenly. The heat wasn’t too hot, nor too warm. In principle, it was as if the mixture had been divided into multiple segments, each being heated at the exact same rate.

“Incredible! Young man, just what is this technique?”

The pot of liquid churned and frothed at a more steady rhythm than before. In mere seconds, it was already thickening and becoming clear.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Intuition, I suppose.”

With a snap of his fingers, Sans withdrew all the flames, letting the liquid congeal together into a see-through substance. The next moment, he revealed a vial of emerald colored powder—his sample of Twilight Fel.

“I hate to say it, but if your suspicions are correct, then the mixture before us will attempt to avoid any contact with Twilight Fel.”

Sans tilted the vial over the pot and glanced at Elder Hoplin, who nodded his head.

“Do it.”

The two men on either side, and Lem from a distance, all watched on with bated breath. Particles of Twilight Fel cascaded down and the results were immediately displayed. The substance wiggled and shook ferociously as it split apart, hugging the sides of the pot as if its very existence depended on it.

“How awful…”

Lem uttered from her spot, but she was only saying out loud what the other two didn’t wish to believe to be true. Elder Hoplin let out a sigh.

“This whole time, I never once considered to test for beastmen blood essence. Such a diabolic practice…”

“It’s not confirmed that this woman is sacrificing her blood essence to create this potion. Is there perhaps a non-lethal way to extract blood essence? You said she looked powerful, wouldn’t she be greatly weakened through such repeated actions?”

Sans proposed as he shook his head. If by chance the king was forcing this beast woman to slowly kill herself, then there would be even less of an issue in resolving his floor trial.

“There might be a non-lethal way to extract blood essence, but it’s as you say—she would be greatly weakened no matter what. And believe me, she certainly did not seem weak.”

Elder Hoplin shrugged his shoulders. One could only guess so many scenarios, but ultimately they didn’t know the truth—nor did they need it.

“It’s fine either way. Now that I have the concoction method for Twilight Fel, I will work on a cure for this accursed drug, meanwhile the both of you should get some sleep.”

Sans tried to wave the old man away, but immediately received resistance.

“Nonsense! I’ll work on the cure too, here with you. I won’t rest until we figure this out, this I can swear on my life!”

“Are you sure? This might not be resolved for a couple days and nights…”

Sans gave a wry smile, but he had to admit that Elder Hoplin’s ambition was somewhat inspiring. The old man leaned over and slapped a gnarled hand on Sans’ shoulder.

“Young man, trust me… I need this.”

His lips trembled and his eyes twitched at the corners. Sans could see that something ate away at the weary soul from deep within, and it wasn’t hard for him to figure out what.

“Alright, alright! Let’s get to it! Take this.”

Sans passed over a piece of parchment.

“It’s the list of ingredients that we’re going to need to experiment with. Some are rather high ranking, so you’ll have to retrieve them personally. I’ll stay here and plan out the full process.”

Elder Hoplin grinned from ear to ear before calling out to the woman beside him.

“Lem! Let’s fetch these from the association! Tonight we’ll be making history!”

“Yes sir!”

----------------------------------------

With Elder Hoplin and Lemma retrieving the alchemy materials, Sans was left alone—well, not entirely alone.

“So you figured it out?”

Elsie stood at the doorway, leaning her shoulder against the wall with her arms crossed.

“This is the list, want to check it?”

Sans revealed a confident smirk, holding a parchment between his index and middle finger. Elsie flicked her wrist, causing the list to fly out of Sans’ hand. She deftly snatched it out of the air and inspected it with a lazy expression.

“You didn’t figure out the type of beastman, but it’s correct regardless. The type of beastman doesn’t matter for the cure anyway.”

She snorted before sending the list sailing back to Sans.

“Ah, about the type… I can’t decide between three different ones. It could either be an Ultraviolet Three-Winged Bat, a Sunshade Salamander, or a Midnight Stalker. The most dangerous one would be the Midnight Stalker, but-“

“It’s none of them.”

Sans was smoothly interrupted by the haughty woman.

“N-None of them? Then what could it be? Hmm… could Doctor Lazure’s memories not be complete?”

Or rather… my memories?

He corrected in his thoughts as it was increasingly difficult for him to distinguish the entity that was Doctor Lazure from himself.

“Doctor Lazure was incredible in every way, but even he did not explore the entirety of this vast tower. Keep that in mind as you continue your alchemy journey.”

Sans clicked his tongue at the reminder.

“What could it be then?”

“Something much more rare than any of the three. It is of a fox variant, called the Serene Twilight Fox. It is a tribe that exclusively resides on the tenth floor and nowhere else.”

Elsie let out a sigh and she continued speaking.

“Even more deplorable, only the blood essence of an unmated Serene Twilight Fox is able to activate the ingredients in such a manner that it leaves seemingly no traces.”

“If it leaves no traces, then how could you detect it?”

Sans gave her a skeptical look.

“Hmpf! Who do you think I am? Obviously if it wasn’t a dingy bat, a lousy sammy, or a stalker then that can only leave the fox!”

Elsie pouted her lips and looked the other way.

“L-Lousy sammy? Ahem, and you figured all of this out just by taste testing the drug?”

He recoiled back, astounded and shocked. After all, he had toiled for at least a day to come up with his final theory.

“By taste testing? Not at all. I figured it out by aroma alone. I just tried the drug out of curiosity.”

She flipped her hair back, ignoring Sans’ eyes of alarm.

“It was a unique combination that I had never seen before. Obviously I would have been curious to its effects. Hmpf, rudimentary at best…”

Elsie walked out of the room the next moment, leaving Sans to deal with his swiftly developing sense of inferiority.

Who do I think you are? I have no idea! Just who are you?!

Sans made a self-deprecating smile as he glanced at the ingredient list in his hands.

From smell alone… did I set my sights too low? Is that something I should be able to do?

He retrieved the vial of Twilight Fel and opened it, wafting its scent toward his face.

…She’s right. Now that I know the recipe, I can smell each of the different notes within the scent alone.

He tilted his head up as if he could see right through the ceiling and into the endless sky. Lost in a daze, time passed by in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, the slam of a door jolted him awake.

“Huff- We’re back! Huff- let’s get- haaaah, started!”

Elder Hoplin hunched over and gulped in deep breaths. Sans gave him a pointed look followed by a chuckle.

“You seem like you ran here.”

“Wha-? Nonsense! It’s merely my old age catching up to me!”

The next moment, Lemma burst into the room, completely winded and full of relief.

“Whew! We ran as fast as we could! As Master Hoplin said on the way, the sooner we get the materials, the sooner we can begin experimentation! I hope we didn’t keep you waiting long!”

Elder Hoplin stared at her with a scrunched face.

“How elegant…”

Sans smirked and shook his head.

“Bah! Who cares about such nonsense! Let us begin our research. Tonight, we find a cure for this accursed thing once and for all!”

“Yes, yes, yes. Bring those ingredients over. Here, refine those ones while I work on the others.”

Although the majority of the effort was completed by Sans alone, Elder Hoplin and Lemma played no small part; often times acting as a springboard of ideas or even as a simple sanity check. Between laughter and smiles, hopes and dreams, the three of them worked together all through the night and day.

----------------------------------------

“We’ve done it… or rather, you’ve done it.”

Elder Hoplin stared the light blue pill, resting in the palm of his hand.

“You were correct the first time. We did it—I think. We still have to test it.”

Sans relaxed back in a chair, his face wrought with exhaustion. He extended his hand out for the pill.

“Give it here, I have a potential candidate in mind.”

“Y-Yes, of course.”

Elder Hoplin passed over the blue marble of purity. It was incredible to think that the cause of all the kingdom’s distress could be eliminated with such a tiny work of art.

“If this proves to be a successful cure then we can work double time on creating more. It’ll be the flagship product of Herbs and Cauldrons!”

Sans stowed the pill away and prepared to take off.

“You know, Sans, I was once known as The People’s Alchemist. A silly title, by all means.”

Elder Hoplin revealed a light smile and continued speaking.

“Even if it’s a silly title, it once gave me great pride. However, if anyone deserves that title now—it has to be you.”

“Wait here and relax. I’ll be back with the good news in short time.”

Sans grinned as he left the building under watchful eyes. It didn’t take long for him to reach his destination, which was one that he hadn’t ventured to in some days.

He knocked his knuckles onto the hardwood door and stilled, listening intently for movement. Fortunately, he wasn’t disappointed as the shuffling of feet was soon heard scampering for the door.

A gentle creak later, the door opened, revealing a small head with a slanted tuft of hair.

“You’re Lance, right?

The defensive boy’s eyes lit up as he recognized the visitor, who also happened to be their benefactor.

“It’s you! Um… come in, quick!”

Sans was pulled inside by Lance’s small hand and the door was shut behind him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I-It’s my father, he’s um-”

Before he could explain, a woman cried out from the other room.

“Please! Arban! Come back to us!”

Sans bolted toward the commotion in posthaste, where he came across Tessa who sat helplessly on the floor. She cradled her arm, which was red with a bloody gash, close to her chest. From her position, it seemed like she had been pushed down or attacked.

Arban snarled incoherently while his fingers clawed at the air as if he were fighting off the manifestations of his inner demons.

“Are these withdrawal symptoms? The physical dependence on Twilight Fel is stronger than I thought—he’ll die at this rate.”

Sans dashed toward the man and delivered a sturdy, but gentle, kick to his chest. Arban flew to the floor, landing on his back, while Sans leapt onto his chest and locked him down.

“Rargugah!”

“Alright, alright.”

Sans nodded as if he could understand Arban’s every word, which was far from the truth. The next moment, a shiny blue pill found its way into Arban’s mouth and down his throat.

“Is my love okay?!”

Tessa cried out as she crawled closer. Sans inspected her once again, only just now noticing the old wounds that decorated her arms. It was clear that this wasn’t Arban’s first outburst.

“Uh, I’m not sure. I think he’ll be fine-?”

Arban’s body stilled, no longer fighting back.

“Arban?”

Sans called out, trying to peer into his eyes for any sign of life.

Shit, did I just kill him? Was the recipe wrong?!

Although he had a brief moment of worry, his doubts were soon put to rest as Arban began to violently convulse in place. Sans hopped off and pulled Tessa away.

“Give him some space. I think this is intended—I hope.”

“What is happening to him?!”

Tessa watched on in horror as her husband writhed and twisted on the floor.

“Um, maybe get your kids to the other room.”

Sans pointed toward two pairs of curious eyes. The moment he mentioned the children, Tessa’s priorities were immediately set straight. She rushed toward them in a panic, whispering words of solace as she placated them. By the time she returned, Arban’s body regained calm, but this time with steady breath.

“Arban?”

Sans called out uncertainly.

“Dearest?”

Tessa knelt beside his head and carefully stroked his cheek with a single hand. A few moments later, Arban’s protruding veins seemed to recede and gain normalcy. The green tint that clung to his lips had all but vanished, and there even seemed to be a light blush on his cheeks.

“Tessa?”

A cracked voice rung out, and Arban’s eyes fluttered open. For the first time in a long time, the husband was able to look upon his wife with a clear gaze.