I cultivated in my room for nine days, keeping my hunger at bay with an orange flavored fasting pill, so I did nothing but cultivate, sleep, and occasionally refine some spirit liquid. I only emerged after expanding and refining my first spirit pond to the limit, and then condensing a second one. As such, I could now say that I’m level 12, and that’s exactly what I did when I had breakfast with Masters Mia and Chen, as well as four other Masters that I didn’t recognise, all four of which began pointedly avoiding looking in my direction or even acknowledging my existence when I walked over. However, one of them, a man with five black stripes on his red robe, and who looked like he was in his mid twenties, broke that to speak directly to me as soon as I mentioned my level.

“Wait, so... you, the new Pill Master, in addition to being barely out of childhood, are also barely out of foundation establishment? And you’re one-upping everyone else all the time despite that?”

“That’s the difference in standards... between you, and someone taught by... a level 80 who spent his whole life... studying every facet of alchemy”

“That alone still shouldn’t make you be able to almost catch up to me in rankings. You’d still need to have practiced a lot, and have a lot of spirit, if you wanted to make a high difficulty pill be that degree of high quality. What you just said was that you’d obtained a lot of theoretical knowledge”

“Master Wang, please note that the one you’re talking to has a Void Spirit Realm and yet is also level 12. What does that tell you about his talent, and probably his control?”

“Oi. That’s personal information”

I shook my head, told Master Mia it was fine, and decided to go for seconds. When I did, I noticed that I was getting served by Geirian. He had a look on his face that said “I’m pissed”, but he served me just fine, if a little bit forcefully when he dropped a scoop of mixed vegetables onto my plate. Not that I cared, I wasn’t planning on eating that stuff in any case. Cats are, for the most part, carnivores, and I’m still not used to eating vegetables. Fruit, especially citrus, I’ve come to like, but... not leafy greens, roots, or even most of the things that are technically fruit, but usually treated like vegetables when it comes to culinary preparation, such as peas, corn, tomatoes, and beans. Herbs being the main exceptions to those rules. As such, even though I brought back a plate with a pile of vegetables, two steaks, and a mug of warm milk, I didn’t touch the former no matter how much people teased me. However, that’s besides the point, given the conversation that I overheard, and then interjected into, as I brought said food back to the table.

“- seriously, one has to wonder how he could have learned all of this high-level information about alchemy without ever having tried to refine a batch of pills”

“Well... it’s less information about alchemy and more... information about all kinds of materials. Before I came here, I couldn’t tell you... if you were holding the lid or the leg... of an alchemical furnace. Now, part of that is because... master used an ordinary cooking pot instead... but even so, what I’ve memorized is... a few hundred actual formulae, and every facet of... tens of thousands of materials. Everything from properties to ideal preparation methods... as well as habitable conditions and harvesting methods... and precise information at that”

“Even so, how? You only had, probably, about six to eight years to memorize all of that, right?”

“I have an excellent memory... when it comes to this sort of thing. On the other hand, I can’t remember... where it was that I heard your name”

“Ah. I’m Master Wang, the second rank alchemist, and thus, your next-door neighbor... well, actually, I’m across the hall and over one, but that’s a minor detail, right?”

“That makes sense. I apologize for forgetting. I’ve been... focused on learning about alchemy... forgetting to learn about my fellow alchemists”

I bowed my head in an expression of apology, but I completely forgot about what was right in front of me, so I basically smashed my face into a pile of my most hated foods. They laughed, I picked some corn out of my hair, and we all started eating instead of talking. After I ate, I cultivated a bit more, though I didn’t get much of anywhere with just those few hours. I spent the rest of the day refining various pills, some of which I sold to the Association, others I kept for myself to aid me in the future. I skipped lunch, and only came out to sell my pills on my way back from eating dinner, which was the same thing as usual, two fish, three steaks, and two mugs of warm milk. I’m a creature of habit, okay?

A week passed like that, and I mostly finished expanding my second pond, so all that was left was to slowly refine and purify it over the course of another month or so, before I could start on my third spirit pond. However, after that one week, something happened during breakfast. It started off like any other day, I got my usual lemon-butter grilled fish, one chicken breast with butter and herbs, and a mug of warm milk. I brought those over to the table, sat down, ate a bit while talking with Masters Antonius and Chen, and drank a bit of milk. That’s when it changed. I slammed the mug down hard, causing the table to shake and the masters to stop talking and look at me. They paled when they saw that my normally almost expressionless face was twisted with rage, and my voice reflected that emotion as well.

“Someone grab Geirian. Don’t let him wash his hands. And nobody drink their milk... if they got milk. Absolutely don’t drink mine. It’s poisoned”

While I popped an antitoxin pill into my mouth, Antonius stood up, walked behind the counter, and pulled Geirian over to the Masters’ table, where I was ready with a few powders I’d made as a “just in case” a few weeks earlier.

“Hands. Palm up. Unless you’d like to confess... to poisoning me now... and save us the trouble?”

“I didn’t-”

“Hands. Show us your palms. NOW”

At Master Chen’s command, he reluctantly stuck his hands out, palms facing the sky, and I grabbed a pinch of a bone-white powder, sprinkling it onto part of his right palm. It immediately changed to a sickly green color. I then sprinkled it onto my palm, same spot, and it stayed white. I did the same with two other powders, which changed from a light blue to purple, and from yellow to blood red, but only when contacting his right hand, and not his left. I sniffed his hands, and then gave my summary of what information I gleaned from those experiments.

“Poison. A liquid. Always fatal, no cure, almost undetectable... no smell, no color, dissolves in the body... to become untraceable. Conclusion... Phantom God Viper venom. From a female. Crushed the venom sac and let the poison... empty into the mug. Made the mistake of not processing it first... and of getting it from a female. Processed right, it wouldn’t leave a residue... on his hand, and wouldn’t have a taste. Males wouldn’t give the milk any taste... even if crushed directly. As it is... well, it tasted extremely coppery. The empty sac is probably... nowhere to be found, it can be burned... without a trace, easily and harmlessly”

The masters were all quite shocked at my declaration that it was always fatal, and appeared to be saddened by my impending death.

“Hold on, you’re saying you’re gonna die?”

“Yes, but I’ve got a way to save my life. Without it... I’d die in about half an hour. I still will, but I’ll be back... in a few days, I think. If not, well, nothing could save me”

“Geirian, do you want to confess now, or be put on trial later today?”

“Or, you could drink my milk. Every last drop. I’ll drink a bit more as well. That’d prove it’s not poisoned”

Geirian blanched, and chose to deny it. I didn’t hear what came of it, I went to my room, wrote a note saying not to disturb me for a month or two, until and unless I woke back up, and then, after taking off most of my clothing, lay down on my bed. After a few minutes, I felt a series of small explosions in every part of my body, accompanied by indescribable pain, which only lasted for the few seconds it took for me to die, blood frothing out from the corners of my lips, nostrils, ears, and eyes. 

My body died, healed, and died again in a cycle lasting half an hour at first, and then taking longer and longer to die, while healing faster and faster, as I gained a resistance to that sort of poison, which was one that made my veins weaken and then all burst at once, as well as a resistance to blood loss. My skin burst open at times and released a small flood of blood, due to the liquid pooling in my flesh increasing with each cycle.

Some unknown amount of time later, in the middle of the night, I woke up, pale skinned and in a puddle of my own blood, both dried and drying. My whole body hurt like hell and was covered in dried blood, and I found sitting up nigh impossible, let alone standing. After a few hours, however, I managed to roll out of bed and crawl to the door, and another hour was needed for me to open it and flop weakly into the hall. 

Half an hour passed with me half in my room, half out, and unable to move a muscle, before someone noticed me. He immediately raced to Grandmaster White’s room, woke him up, and brought him over. One look at me was enough for him to understand what I needed, and so, within a minute, I was turned onto my back, head raised, and force-fed a few pills. Two hours passed like that, and I was able to stay leaning against the wall on my own, and could talk a bit.

“How... long?”

“It’s been sixteen days, almost seventeen, since you... whatever that was. Geirian had indeed purchased a fresh Phantom God Viper’s corpse a day earlier, though he wrote down the reason for buying it as him wanting its bones, eyes, and tongue for a pill. With that, there was enough evidence to prove him guilty of poisoning you, but his punishment has been delayed until we were sure what would happen to you. If you’d survive, that is. If not... he’d die, no questions asked. If you did... no, since you did... it’s a bit harder to say”

“Well, I did die... over a hundred times, in fact. That really hurt. Still hurts now, actually. I would have preferred... it being a variant’s venom, honestly. Less painful. Faster acting, however... wouldn’t have been able... to mark Geirian’s hands... let alone make it here... so maybe not”

I had some trouble talking, but that would fade with time, so I didn’t mind. I expected that it’d hurt, but I didn’t expect it to hurt this much. I also didn’t expect Grandmaster White’s next question, as it deviated from the topic quite a bit.

“What do you know about the variant?”

“Uh... they’re called... Traceless Phantom God Vipers. Venom kills in seconds. Dead before you realize... you got bitten. No cause of death... can be found. Can move through walls, rocks, trees... and so on. Can’t be seen until it strikes. The ultimate assassin. Spirit Companion of... the assassin known as... Thanatos. History’s best assassin... who reigned supreme... amongst assassins... over 3000 years ago. 100% success rate. Over ten thousand kills. Nobody else... known to have one... as a companion... or a tamed beast pet. Violet scales... as opposed to royal blue. Slightly smaller... but much faster”

I stopped talking, as I began to cough up chunks of dried blood. Not the most pleasant of things to have to cough up, I’ll have you know, but I could breathe a bit more easily once I finished doing so. Grandmaster White stayed with me for several hours after that, talking about various things, until I was able to walk to the bathing rooms to get myself cleaned up, with a shoulder to lean on as I went. They were equipped to handle just about everything, a result of dealing with the hazards in an alchemist’s line of work. 

A few hours of scrubbing dried blood from every part of my body later, I was dressed in clean clothes under a fresh red (not dyed red with blood, just normal dyes) robe, and was able to walk on my own. I hobbled to the mess hall, shocking just about everyone there... before I got swarmed by all the Masters in the room, and many of the other alchemists as well, to the point I was unable to get myself food, nor could I eat even after Master Mia got food for me.

“ENOUGH-”

I tried to raise my voice over the din, but instead ended up coughing up a bit of blood after getting out the first word. That was enough to get people to back off and quiet down, so I tried again.

“Enough... I’m still recovering. Give me time... to eat... and to heal. To me... there’s nothing more pressing... than my own health. I’m sorry, but... whatever you want... can and will... wait for a while”

With that, I ate, and then, after I finished, I got pulled to a room I’d never been in before by Grandmaster White. There were five men and a woman in black robes already seated on the left side of the room, with Geirian shackled to the lone chair on the opposite side. Grandmaster White guided me directly across to a chair by the far wall, and then sat down in the last of the seven seats on the left... well, now they’re on my right. There were a few other Masters seated with me, including Antonius and Chen. Within a minute of me sitting down, the three-stripe Grandmaster to Grandmaster White’s left spoke.

“Now, let us resume the trial of Adept Geirian Kingsford. He is accused of attempted murder through the use of poison obtained through the Association for a different purpose, that is to say, improperly reporting the purpose of purchasing restricted materials. Adept Kingsford has pled not guilty to both charges, however, evidence and witness testimony has proven him guilty on all counts. We convene today to obtain testimony from the one whom he attempted to murder, and then to decide sentencing”

“Would Master Tama please give his account regarding the circumstances of the incident?”

Grandmaster White motioned me to the lone chair in the front row on the side I sat, and so I made my way there.

“Should I say... only the events of... one and a half weeks ago... or also the events that... I believe to be... the motive behind what transpired?”

“Both. And speak more clearly. Those pauses make it difficult to follow”

“Grandmaster Endrazine, he has some speech problems, which seem to have been made worse by the injuries sustained recently, based on how he was the day before. Don’t fault him for that. He can’t help it. Tama, go ahead”

“Very well. I first met Geirian... a little over six weeks ago... if memory serves me properly. I was informing a few of... the other Masters about my upcoming work... as an Association salesman. That’s when he overheard... and butted- er... inserted himself... into the conversation... but he quickly... got into a minor argument... with one of the other Masters. I tried to offer... a solution... but got called... a retarded child... by Geirian. The Master insulted him in return... then I made the observation... that his vocabulary... seemed to be limited... and subsequently said that... he might not know the words... ‘denigrating’... and ‘adjective’... and he stormed out of the hall”

The Grandmasters, without exception, looked like they had trouble holding in laughter. One of them motioned for me to continue, and so I explained what happened while I was working, in relation to my interactions with Geirian.

“Could you please elaborate as to what happened with - what history you had with - Adon, the Imperial Groundskeeper, to make you blacklist him on sight?”

He already knew part of what happened, I think, but the others didn’t know much of anything, so I did so, picking my words carefully, to avoid spilling any of my secrets... besides the one that was already somewhat out in the open.

“Ah... yes. First, I will tell you... that I indeed died... to the poison Geirian used... and it killed me more than... a few dozen times. I’m not exaggerating... my master, before he died... gave me a treasure... that can bring me back to life... when I die. In some cases. It has restrictions. It’s bound to my soul... and it’s part of me” 

I could see the envy, the desire to take whatever that treasure was by any means, but upon hearing the last bit, that mostly faded from their eyes as they realized that it was probably impossible to obtain it from me, even if they killed me... assuming they even could do so. Soon after that, they got back to what we were discussing before. 

“So... with that information... I’ll begin. I’m not sure when... this started, but... whenever Adon saw me... he’d try to kill me. That was true even... the first time he saw me... and it wasn’t just me... whenever he saw someone... like me, who slept wherever... we could find shelter... and ate whatever scraps... we could scavenge... or beg from others... or the rodents we caught... he’d try to kill them too”

“That... sounds like the perfect description of human-shaped trash. I’m sorry to hear that... and that you had to live like that for... however long it was that you did. So, is that it? Is that why?”

“Not quite... he managed to kill me twice. And he killed several others. At least five... that I know for sure. Over a dozen more... that I have reason to believe... were killed by him. And the worst part is... he didn’t even see them... as people, just... mindless beasts. He didn’t remember the faces... of those he murdered. He didn’t think anything of it. So, of course, I blacklisted him. I couldn’t kill him... or do anything... to get him... the appropriate punishment... but... I did what I... had the means to do”

Upon hearing the number of confirmed and suspected kills, there were a few gasps, and Geirian opened his mouth, but was glared at by three of the Grandmasters, and so shut it wordlessly. A few more questions were asked about my interactions with Adon and my actions during the time I was a salesman, and then we moved on to the main part of the story.

“So... while he was suspended... he was working... in the mess hall. The first two weeks passed... with the largest incident... being him serving me... an overly forceful... scoop of vegetables. In that time... he got familiar with... my standard daily meals... including the mug of warm milk... I drink with every meal. However... on the day in question... I drank from my mug... and noticed an extremely... metallic taste. Coppery. From my master’s teachings... I recognized it as... some kind of poison... and given who handed... that mug to me... and who heated it for me... it wasn’t hard... to figure out... the likely culprit”

I was asked a clarifying question, as to how I knew that it was poison, beyond just the abnormal taste of my milk.

“I used some powders... to identify the properties... of the residue on Geirian’s hand. From that... and the taste, smell, and feel... I narrowed the options down significantly. The lack of immediate symptoms... and no reaction from... my antitoxin pills... helped as well. So did the way it covered... the entirety of one hand... and none of the other. That gave me an idea... as to how... it was stored and delivered. And thinking about what... he might have access to... and would want to use... gave me just one option... that I could think of. And based on how I died... and what he bought... I was right... in concluding that it was... Phantom God Viper venom”

Specifics were asked about the powders I used, what antitoxin pill I used, and the taste, smell, and how I died, to which I answered in full, not sparing any of the macabre details of my condition, and giving them two new formulae in the process. People were delighted by the latter, but one of the Grandmasters, and two of the Masters, threw up as I described the process of my repeated deaths. Several others were white as snow. Once I finished describing my own deaths, my condition upon waking up having been confirmed by Grandmaster White, there were a few irrelevant questions that I also answered, despite not really having to.

“Master Tama... I have to ask... did you feel everything that happened... all the pain... or else, how do you know what occurred during that period?”

“I didn’t feel it... in the moment... however... I have methods... of reliving that experience... or rather... of creating and obtaining... a nearly perfect memory... of what transpired... even while asleep... or dead. It’s not unlike... what a spirit companion... can do for you”

“Not unlike? You’re saying that you-”

“I have... a void spirit realm. Yes. I was born without... a spirit companion”

From there, I was asked how I managed to break through to tier 2, a question which I stubbornly refused to answer, and then the Grandmasters moved on to sentencing.

CaTastrophy427

It's time once again for me to ask, how did my 18 readers enjoy this chapter? Leave a comment, favorite if you so desire (I don't think it deserves it, but I'd be happy to be told otherwise) and/or join my Discord server. The title/role of first new member isn't available anymore, but we're still waiting for our third!

PS: Meant to send this out a few hours ago lmao, but stuff happened