Chapter 29
Kendra’s silence is concerning. She’s been staring at me for the longest time, her brows knit together in a deep frown.
Did something happen? Did the Zantrax cause any unwanted effects?
When I used it the first time, the side effects were awful.
But every time I used it after that, my body started to get used to it.
I still wake up tired and a little sore, but I stopped having fevers and hallucinations.
I’ve used so many vials of Zantrax by now that I’m basically immune to to the adverse effects.
That’s not to say that the potion hasn’t been affecting my inner body—after all, it is a foreign substance I put in my body.
Perhaps that is what she’s seeing? In my quest to get rid of this seal once and for all, I took all the D and C level jobs I qualified for, earning a pretty sum of money and gaining some valuable experience along the way.
“This is very strange, Nykander,” she mutters, mostly to herself. “Just last week the results of your check-up were positive but still nothing out of the ordinary. But now…”
“Now?” I ask as I sit forward on the examination bed.
“I cannot find any evidence of the seal.”
“No evidence? It’s…gone?”
She nods. “Completely gone. I have no idea how it happened, but it’s as if it was never there in the first place.”
My heart thuds dangerously in my body. A feeling I long thought lost blooms inside of me.
Hope.
“It’s really gone?” I whisper.
“I need to compile a report on this. It’s really remarkable. And you say you did nothing out of the ordinary?”
“No,” I lie. “If you do write the report, please keep my name anonymous.”
“Of course. I won’t mention anything that might lead to you. But fair warning: you might get inquiries from scholars all across the realm. Since I first started treating you, I’ve been corresponding with a lot of eminent scientists, and they’ve all expressed an interest in the case.”
“Yes, you can forward all the inquiries to me.” I’ll just deny them. “If that’s all—”
“Wait!” She calls out as I make to leave. “Your seal might be gone, but your body still suffers from the thousands of years of lack of energy. You will not be able to simply start cultivating now as if nothing happened.”
I frown. “What do you suggest I do then? Is there a treatment? An artifact that might help?” I’m already formulating a plan to ask for those items at the next Utopiya meeting.
“Not…exactly.” She sighs. “Since there is no standard treatment for your condition, I can only recommend what I’ve seen before.”
“What is it?”
She grabs a piece of paper and scribbles a list of five ingredients on it with instructions.
Root of Gambiya
Three leaves of Loringa
100ml of blood from a Raffia egg (12 months or older)
50g powder of Wilka horn
One drop of Lake Velor
Mix the first four together and add the drop of Lake Velor at the end. Consume only when fully rested.
I read the list over a couple of times. I don’t recognize any of these terms. And if the terms are unknown, that can only mean one thing: they cost a fortune.
“What’s this recipe supposedly for?” I ask since this seems awfully precise.
“I mentioned the plague before. Although this is not a cure for it per se, it is a way through which the effects can be mitigated. Those with money and resources depend on this concoction to function normally. As far as our research shows, this combination of ingredients cleans the body’s meridians and opens them up to energy.
Of course, in the case of the plague this is merely a temporary fix,” she explains.
“But this should work for your specific case. You need to cleanse your body so you can start absorbing the energy around you.”
“I see.” I nod. “I assume these are expensive?”
Her lips flatten as she sighs dejectedly.
“Some are not just expensive but also extremely rare. I can provide you with a drop of Lake Velor, though please do not tell anyone where it came from. I can also arrange for you to purchase Loringa leaves, though those will be around a hundred slova a piece. But the rest…” She shakes her head.
“The Raffia and the Wilka are only found in a remote forest at the bottom of Gaigo Mountain but they are notoriously difficult to kill. For that reason, you might not even find the ingredients on the black market. I’m sorry. ”
“Thanks for this,” I say and wave the paper. “I’ll have to trouble you with the drop of water from the Lake and the Loringa leaves. I’ll find other ways to gather the rest of the materials.”
She gives me a sad smile. “You do that.” Her voice is filled with pity.
She doesn’t think I can get the rest of the ingredients.
If it had been the Nykander from before, no, I would have never been able to gather them.
But with my new connections as well as my newfound confidence in my own abilities, I’m willing to go to any extreme to obtain them.
Soon… I’ll soon be a proper immortal.
Kendra gives me a vial with water from Lake Velor as well as the three Loringa leaves, for which I pay three hundred slova.
Good thing I’ve been working a lot lately and I can afford it.
After work, I go straight home, place the two items in a safe space and inform Moe I might be arriving later this evening.
“Don’t get hurt,” she murmurs as she waves me off.
“I’ll try not to.” I wink at her.
Although our relationship has undoubtedly become much better—as in, she’s no longer avoiding my presence around the house—I don’t know how to suggest to her that I might be interested in her romantically. Is it even a good idea to do it now, when she feels beholden to me?
I’m torn.
On one hand I want to be clear about my intentions, on the other I don’t want her to think I’m cornering her and forcing her into something she might not want to.
It doesn’t help that every day she gushes about what a good friend I am to her. All I want to do is yell: Am I just a friend?
I don’t, of course. I merely smile and nod.
If she only knew this friend of hers spends every night touching himself to impure thoughts of her…
But I don’t think she’s ready to know any of that. Despite what she’s been through, Moe is far too innocent of this world. And I find that I don’t want to taint that innocence in any way, not even to my benefit.
The meeting at Utopiya starts as usual. I listen attentively to all the offerings at hand, waiting for my turn to ask if anyone has the items Kendra listed for me for sale.
As people go over the available vials of Zantrax, I’m reminded that my supply is running low, too and that soon I should purchase more.
But now is not the time. I must manage my remaining money carefully, especially since those ingredients might be expensive.
When the goods exchange time arrives, I ask if anyone has either of the remaining ingredients. To my luck, someone does have the root of Gambiya, which I purchase for fifty slova. Not bad.
“You will not find anyone selling Raffia or Wilka body parts any time soon,” a voice sounds out.
“Why is that?”
The gentleman in question clicks his tongue.
“Those two species used to be very profitable ingredients on the black market. Just a few hundred years ago, hunters would go to the Horan Forest for those creatures. Since they are considered mythical beasts, every single part of their body is overflowing with energy, so one creature could yield as much as one thousand kaths.”
Gasps erupt in the air. One thousand kaths? That is a fortune!
“If it’s so profitable why is no one selling them?”
Another person chuckles in the room. “You think people have not tried their luck? Every year hundreds of people go hunt those beasts, thinking they’ll be the ones to get rich.
But every year, the same people disappear without a trace.
It’s widely known that there is something sinister about Horan forest.”
“This gentleman is correct. Sensible people know to avoid Horan Forest. There will always be treasure hunters, though. Some people don’t believe in the rumors; though in my own experience, I have yet to see evidence that those are rumors. No one has lived to tell the tale.”
“When you say they disappeared…”
“Never to be seen again. No one knows what happened to them.”
“Do you think we have not felt the absence of those two species on the market?” A female speaks.
“Every part of those creatures could yield something—be it a potion or a weapon. Not only that, but some believe they are the key to curing the plague that’s been ravaging Tartareia for thousands of years.
Even with that impetus, most people don’t dare venture there anymore. ”
“I see. Thank you everyone for your input,” I say with a bow and sit down in my seat, waiting for the session to end.
To my surprise, however, as I’m about to leave, the masked male in charge of the meeting stops me.
“There is a gentleman who wishes to speak privately with you,” he says. “Would you accept?”
“Can I ask who is it?”
“We do not disclose identities, but it is someone you’ve completed a mission for before.”
“All right then.”
With a nod, he leads me to a separate room where someone is waiting for me.
“The same rules apply. You will not be able to see each other’s faces,” the masked male confirms before leaving.
“He said I completed a mission before for you? Could you tell me which one?”
The gentleman does not reply. Instead, he materializes a book, which he waves at me.
“Oh!” My first mission.
“You did an excellent job,” he starts, his voice distorted. “But I could not help but wonder. How did you do it so quickly?”
“Huh?”
“Many have tried before you and all of them have failed. How did you succeed?”
I frown. “It was a bit troublesome indeed. There was a sentient forest guarding it, but I managed to bypass it.”
“How?”