Tav couldn't remember ever feeling this sore in his entire life. He'd faced germinated students in previous combat classes before, but Yannick had been… a whole different beast. That girl had been relentless, exploiting every opening he gave her, hammering his body with a strength that honestly didn't seem human. By the end of it, it was hard to believe she had even been holding back.
Still aching all over, Tav barely paid attention as he pulled today's class supplies out of his bag — a mistake, given what kind of materials they were. Some of the magical items and reagents needed to be handled with extreme care, either because of how dangerous they were… or how expensive.
Well, the second part wasn't necessarily true for Tav, actually. The professor had made it crystal clear last week: the ingredients for this lesson had to be bought from a very specific shop in the Center, owned by a "trusted friend," as he put it.
But when Tav went to that store and saw the prices… he nearly fainted. They were so outrageous that his family would've gone bankrupt if he tried to buy everything there.
His mother, of course, insisted he follow the professor's instructions, despite knowing exactly how tight their finances were. She told him he shouldn't cut corners when it came to his education.
But Tav knew better. He knew how much they'd already been giving up just to keep him at Sanctum. If he followed her advice, even their smallest luxuries would disappear. So, he ignored her.
Instead, he went to a shop in the East, one he knew sold magical items and reagents, though probably stolen and clearly of lower quality. Still, they looked decent enough.
Looking back now, Tav realized he should've been way more careful while unpacking his bag, especially with the energy reactant.
Luckily, nothing went wrong... yet.
"Good morning, class."
No one answered the tall, slender man with short gray hair and warm brown eyes standing at the front of the room, but he didn't seem to mind.
"As I mentioned last week, today we'll be tackling one of the most important lessons of the entire alchemy course."
Raising a finger, he smiled.
"Today, we're going to learn how to make an attenuator."
The professor stood behind a massive table cluttered with tools: tongs, beakers, measuring spoons, thermometers, herbs, glowing stones, grains, and a dozen other things, all sorted in a way that made absolutely no sense to Tav.
He stepped away from the table and turned to the chalkboard behind him. With a few quick strokes of chalk, he continued:
"An attenuator, as some of you may already know, is a substance that reduces the side effects of casting magic. That alone makes it one of the most valuable mixtures across the continent. Without it, the protective forces that defend our cities wouldn't be able to accomplish even a third of what they do."
The professor turned back to the class.
"It's also crucial to magical research. It allows us to safely explore the more demanding spells, since it reduces the strain that magic puts on the body."
He paused.
"That said, while its effects are incredible, brewing it is far from simple. The materials, the measurements, the timing — it's all incredibly meticulous. Even seasoned alchemists spend years perfecting it."
The professor raised both hands as if calming the room.
"But you're not seasoned alchemists yet. So don't worry about getting it perfect. Just follow the process I demonstrate and try your best. The recipe is on page 10 of your textbooks."
He placed a cauldron on a burner and lit a bluish flame beneath it.
"All right… Let's begin. First…"
The professor began lifting ingredients from the table one by one, explaining what each did. A white vial of Amaryllis sap, to soothe mana flow. A red vial of young salamander blood, a stabilizer and conductor. A jar of white Matricaria petals, to calm violent mana pulses. A small pot of shimmering mana crystal ash, the key reactant. A sack of Sophorus grains, to open blocked mana channels. And finally, a beaker of pure water.
Once everything was explained, he started the brewing process. Tav watched his every move carefully. How he chopped the grains, how he measured the water, how gently he stirred in a counterclockwise motion. Every detail was etched into his memory.
About fifteen minutes later, the professor poured a glowing, light-blue liquid into a beaker and held it up for everyone to see, saying their attenuators should reach a similar tone and color.
"Now it's your turn. Good luck."
Right away, Tav lit the flame beneath his own cauldron and began laying out the materials he had brought. But now, under the classroom's bright light, he noticed the issues. His Matricaria petals weren't as white as the professor's, his mana crystal ash wasn't as shiny, and the salamander blood was way too watery.
There was no way his mixture would come out anywhere near the professor's. Still, he wanted to try.
Tav felt that learning how to make an attenuator would be very important for his future, especially if he ever became a germinated. Not only that, but it could also become a good business opportunity. Skilled alchemists earned a decent amount of money in the Center, especially those who could brew decent attenuators.
He took 12 Sophorus grains, double-checked the info in his book, and began cutting them one by one, extracting the greenish, gross sap that came out. One by one, he processed the rest of the ingredients — crushing, cutting, sorting — everything in neat little piles.
Then he added 150 milliliters of pure water to the cauldron and waited for it to boil. Step by step, he followed the recipe exactly, stirring carefully, adding ingredients in the correct order and amounts.
It was a slow and finicky process that required patience. Some things could only be added after others and some had to be inserted in tiny increments.
Still, about ten minutes later, everything seemed perfect. Tav smiled, proud. The color was a bit off, but there was just one final ingredient left: the mana crystal ash.
He scooped a spoonful of ash, preparing to add it.
Then, the mixture began to bubble, violently. Way more than it should.
A large bubble formed at the surface, filled with a strange, purplish smoke. It grew... and grew... and kept growing. It swelled over the rim of the cauldron, inching closer to Tav's face.
He backed away, dropping the spoon. His face twisted into a worried, anxious grimace, arms frozen midair, not knowing what to do. It didn't take long for the professor's eyes to land on Tav and his bubbling cauldron, followed by the eyes of every student in the room.
"What is that?"
"Gods, it's going to blow."
"Should we run?!"
The professor's wide eyes stared directly at the chaos about to unfold. Tav heard the concern in his voice as he asked:
"What did you do?"
The next second, the bubble burst.
A thick, stinking purple gas filled the classroom almost instantly. Everything was submerged in a dense cloud that smelled of burnt plants and blood, painting everyone's confused faces in a sickly shade of violet.
Tav couldn't see much through the smoke. But he could hear. The coughing. The panic. And then, cutting through the chaos, the thunderous, furious shout of his professor:
"TAVISH!"
He hadn't just ruined his own attenuator. The gas had likely contaminated every other cauldron in the room, wasting the entire 90-minute class for everyone. All because he ignored his teacher and didn't buy the ingredients from the shop he had so strongly recommended.
Tav buried his face in his hands.
Shit. I'm so screwed.
***
The disaster Tav had caused was nowhere near small. After all, the entire alchemy lab had been infested by the purple mist he created — a cloud born from a mix of secondhand magical ingredients that were likely spoiled.
Fortunately, most of the laboratory's equipment, tools, and ingredients had been stored away, safe from the contaminating fog. His classmates' materials, however, had not been so lucky.
Tav could barely afford his own ingredients from the store his professor recommended.And now, he had ruined the very same ones that belonged to his classmates.
The loss was immeasurable, especially for him.
The situation was nothing less than desperate. He wouldn't just have to clean up the lab, but also all of his classmates' things. And on top of that, he would have to cover the cost of the ruined materials.
It was ironic, really, to think that all Tav wanted from the start was to save money, and now, his mistake would cost his family twenty times more. Maybe it would even cost him his place at Sanctum.
A deep, dreadful regret flooded his chest. He clasped his hands over his knees. Just thinking about the scolding his mother would give him was enough to make his entire body shake. Not because of the yelling, but because of that look she always gave him when he messed up.
That look… Tav hated facing it. He hated disappointing his mother. He always wanted to be everything she hoped for, everything she dreamed of. That was why he was in that school, why he worked so hard to stay a good student. Why he never punched Cheirav. Why he never argued with his teachers.
It was for her. Everything was for her. For the kindest, sweetest, most incredible woman he knew.
Staring at the director's intimidating door, Tav listened to the nervous tapping of his own feet as he reflected, melancholically, on his actions, on what he could have done differently. He ran his hands through his dark hair, tears welling in his sad, violet eyes.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
It was all for her. And now, maybe… he had just ruined everything.