Status: Sad
1273 Words
Downstairs, Blain handed the purchase request to the Prime Minister. He’d tried to seek out the ingredients himself, but, they were far too expensive! You had to order them months in advance!
he also mentioned the ominous purple smoke.
Lawrence’s eye’s lit up and a certain mania appeared on his face.
“Ablation Alchemy? Already? Wonderful! Ah, but, she might not have even known what she’s done. Nonetheless, this does rather solve our problem.”
“It does?”
“Indeed, I’ll tell her she can use ablation to substitute these rare ingredients for more commonplace ones. She’ll be thrilled. Who knows, she might even revive magic item synthesis in a month!”
Blain could tell that there was some internal part of the PM that was being stressed beyond limits by Lilly’s absurd progress.
“I’ll take my leave, Sir. I have to attend Lilly. Perhaps your talk to her can wait until morning.”
“… Yes. Best she get some sleep. She’s the treasure of our kingdom after all.”
“Sir.”
Blain retreated from the room feeling a little sick. Somehow, he was beginning to feel that there wasn’t all that much difference between his former master and the Crown Prince.
Each cared for one aspect of a person, discarding everything else about them in their mind and reducing them to an object to be leveraged.
“I’m not so different.”
He returned to the tower. Darkness had fallen, but the interior of the top floor glowed with a faint luminescence. He found Lilly sitting on the floor, reading. Had she always had glasses?
“Milady. I am to be your permanent assistant starting today. My name is Blain.”
“Hi.”
“….”
“Was I supposed to say something else?”
“Does the young lady require assistance preparing for bed?”
“No. I mean, shouldn’t a maid do that anyway?”
“Due to certain circumstances, no maids...”
“Got it. Will you bring food? I’m hungry.”
The kitchens were no doubt closed by now, but, his new master had made a request. He had to at least give his all to fulfil it.
“By your command Milady.”
After Blain left, Lilly put down the book, and stared off into the air, as if daydreaming- but her eyes darted rapidly back and forth. She understood now why Alkahest had been so adamant about making these before anything else- it was like being handed the key to the world. She could look at an ingredient, and it would break down it’s properties, show her recipes she could use it in- it wasn’t just ingredients. Objects were analysed and quantified, no matter what they were. Even people.
She looked at herself, and whispered ‘analysis’ once more.
[ Name: Lilly Grayson (Fenn)
Level 3
Profession: Alchemist.
Tags: [Daughter of gods] [Prodigy] [Inheritor of Alkahest] [Apprentice Alchemist] [Budding Beauty] [Soulbound]
STR: 35 AGL: 30 CON: 27 INT: 40 MP: 900/1005 HP: 200/200.
Status: A little tired. Sad.
Skill Assist: [No Skill-Assists Assigned, see Skill System menu, or say, Skill Help for details]
EXP assist: [Inactive. See EXP Assist menu, or say, EXP assist for details]
Possessions: Akasha interface device. Simple outfit. Underwear. Handkerchief.
]
“…. Skill Help?”
[Welcome. Thanks to the Akasha Self Improvement initiative, the Skill Assist function was created. With this function, the Akasha network can assist in the user’s growth.
Time is limited, learning is hard, but with Skill Assist, you too can be a master! The Akasha Database that encompasses the sum-total of knowledge and techniques from a curated collection of masters can help you by providing active guidance in your day-to-day life! However, the capacity of the Akasha network is limited, so in exchange for providing this service, you must consent to our terms and conditions.]
“Message lady, please make it simpler.” Lilly hadn’t heard of the concept of a recording- but, unlike when she read her status, there was a voice speaking to her mind.
The flow of words paused.
[…. A user? It’s a user! At last!]
“Message lady?”
[Ah- Uh, Ahem. Simply put, Skill Assist is maintained by machines, so they have a limit. So to be fair, achievements and contributions are used to dictate how much benefit an individual gets.]
“I think I get it, is, EXP assist the same?”
[That is for me to explain.]
Another voice only slightly different from the first made itself heard.
[Whenever a creature possessing magic dies, it disperses into the atmosphere. In the process, it bathes nearby creatures with a burst of energy. This can strengthen the physical and magical abilities of the exposed. Since ancient times, this has been known as gaining experience through battle.
EXP assist improves upon such a prehistoric notion by-]
“uhhhh”
The first voice broke in again. The differences between the tones of the two were subtle, but the first was clearly more excitable.
[You get stronger by slaying things and doing stuff!]
[AKS 11, that is erroneous and oversimplified.]
[Shut it twelve, I want to talk to her. Hey, User, your terminal isn’t fully updated- did you find it lying dormant or something?]
Lilly pondered a bit before answering.
[My teacher, Master Alkahest made it for me.]
[….] Lilly thought she heard something like breaking glass from the other end of the connection.
[Mmmmmmaster Alkahest?]
[Impossible.]
[Her terminal is new though, it’s new! Get the others! Hey, user girl, just wait a sec!]
“It’s Lilly. I can wait.”
Minutes passed, as Lilly idly checked the status of the objects around her.
[ Refurbished Cauldron
Durability 880/1000
A tool for alchemy. It assists synthesis by identifying ‘stirring patterns’ and stabilising them.
This cauldron can recognise 1056 energy patterns and is enough for intermediate alchemy.
It has recently been used to perform a forced higher rank synthesis via unknown means, causing it to degrade.]
Lilly wondered at where her life was going. It’d been such a short time since all she knew was the palace, but now her vision was broadening. She’d never really thought about why an orphan like herself had been treated so well until now.
But, she was beginning to think she could hazard a guess. Alkahest had said it. The glasses had confirmed it.
[Lilly, It’s me, AKS 11. Can you give the glasses to Alkahest?]
“No. He couldn’t wear them anyway? He’s a ghost.”
A stir leaked through from the other end of the line.
[A G-ghost? Well, can, you ask him-]
“He’s not here. Teacher left.”
[He left?]
“He’d only just got here. He was rude. It was just a few days. He barely taught me anything. And he left!”
When Blain arrived back with the meal he’d inexpertly prepared in the kitchens, it was to a girl in tears. Awkward, and inexperienced in comforting another, he approached her slowly and laid the food in front of her. Shortly after, tears soaked into his shirt.
- Writer
