Arc 2: Chimera

Chapter 18: Fleming, the Hundred-Eyed Alchemist

 

Fleming Memphis, the Hundred-Eyed Alchemist. A man of superb intellectual talent and one of Nit Magedom's popular Scholar Heroes. As the nation representing "Wisdom" in the game, the Nit Magedom's main edge over the other factions was its dominion over magic and technology. While Fleming wasn't as effective in combat as the other Heroes under said faction, he topped the list when it comes to item synthesis, creating various supplements, medicines and tools.

And the worst of it all was related to his namesake - "Hundred-Eyed". These so-called "Eyes" refer to the independent mirror-like devices that Fleming controlled for both combat and surveillance, his infamous Hero Ability "Insight's Refraction".

That tool used by Darwin should have clued Haruki in - that "Selector" was definitely a product made from Fleming's own hands!

Fleming seemed to have caught Haruki's look of surprise, as his gaze suddenly sharpened. "Have we met before?"

Haruki shook his head, reminding himself to calm the hell down. While Fleming was a powerful Hero, even he couldn't easily see through his Level 5 Disguise Skill. It was a good thing he purposely leveled up his Skills before leaving for this mission. "I'm sorry, I'm just shocked that the Scholar they talked about was a Human."

"Ah!" Naive Linus came to the rescue, tapping a fist on his palm. "I forgot to tell you, yeah? It's reasonable to think a Human wouldn't willingly help us. This here's Flem-Flem is just an exception to the rule~"

"I said to zip it with the weird nicknames!" Fleming fumed, but he didn't elaborate on the topic. However, he clicked his fingers and a pair of mirror-like circular tools suddenly appeared in mid-air.

Haruki feigned a dumbfounded look and it seemed to somehow allay Fleming of suspicions regarding him. The Human huffed, with a slight arrogant tilt of the chin. "No need to be so scared, these are just magical devices I made myself. They're not gonna hurt you, it'll only take a second to check."

The young Demon Lord warily watched as the spherical "eyes" rotated around his body, vibrating with a humming sound. He also discretely observed the Human Hero, who took out a tablet-like tool from his desk. This reminded Haruki of his appearance in Verethragna Gloria, but some differences were apparent.

Like in the game, Fleming was a blonde, long-haired pretty boy, very youthful-looking despite being in his late thirties. He was shorter and slimmer than even Haruki, making Linus beside him look almost gigantic in comparison. Due to being an indoors man who was occupied with his alchemical experiments the entire day, Fleming had pale, almost snow-white skin. He wore thick glasses on top of a pair of piercing green eyes, looking like your usual intellectual.

However, unlike in the game, Fleming was dressed unconventionally compared to the white and blue color scheme he was known for. He wore a simple black tunic and brown leggings, with a tattered green cape. On his neck was a noticeable choker made of black leather with an oblong diamond in the middle. This accessory sharply contrasted Fleming's plain-looking clothes, with Haruki suspecting it must be some kind of Stat-enhancing Equipment or something close.

Also, his rough manner of speaking had really broken Haruki's expectation of an elegant and intelligent Scholar.

More beeping echoed from Fleming's tablet-like tool and Haruki kept a blank and weirded out expression. On the other hand, the Scholar Hero seemed a little agitated, watching the words and numbers appearing on the screen with barely repressed excitement.

"Holy, his Charisma is through the roof. He also possesses some rare Magic, but nothing dangerous as long as he has the Seal-Enchanted bands."

Haruki almost spluttered, his thoughts spiraling chaotically. What, these things were measuring his Charisma? That useless Stat? Did this mean the Chimeras were collecting people with high Charisma? But for what purpose?

Linus looked extremely and annoyingly proud that even Haruki was tempted to slap his face silly. "Told you, didn't I? He's a perfect fit for the Captain!"

"Yeah, it'll be a big boon if he can help the Captain." Fleming arrived at a conclusion, clicking his fingers once again to have the two mirror-like tools retreat and disappear. Some kind of built-in Stealth feature, Haruki guessed.

After that short inspection, Fleming gave Haruki an appraising gaze, which smelled trouble for the Demon Lord.

"Take a seat," ordered Fleming with a grin, gesturing to the stone-made chair opposite him. The weird atmosphere rang warning bells for Haruki, especially at Linus' sneaky action of moving to his rear, as if cutting off any chances of escape. Once again, Haruki cursed the Seal Spell Enchanted bracelets; with his Identifying Magic he could have guessed what the two were planning based on their Stats and Skill sets.

Haruki could only hope his preparations were adequate, as he followed instructions and sat on the roughly-made seat.

In an instant, a string of red words appeared in Haruki's sight.

[WARNING! You are targeted by a Level 3 Hypnosis Spell. Currently blocking the effects of the Spell…]

Fleming knew Psychic Magic? Another major difference from the game! Haruki could hardly be surprised by now. Luckily…

[The effects of the Hypnosis Spell are fully blocked.]

Ha! Haruki's Resistance had already passed through the hundred mark and Lust Demons had a Faction Bonus towards Psychic Magic. That also meant they were resistant against Psychic Magic. It was a dumb to even try to use Psychic Spells against him but thanks to this, Haruki finally had an edge over the Human Hero.

Fleming's frown was a nice addition to his irritatingly high-handed voice. "What? The Spell is blocked?"

Haruki smiled softly, still adopting a shy and innocent facade. "Ah, I have a Blessing against all forms of Psychic Magic. You weren't trying to control my mind or something, right?"

The Human Hero shifted guiltily, but his eyes showed a mixture of doubt, admiration and curiosity. "A Blessing? You're not a normal Human, are you?"

"My parents were once powerful Mages." Haruki lied through his teeth without a single change in expression. "They gave me some manner of protection before they died. But that's it; now I'm simply a powerless orphan with little Magic to spare."

"I see…" Fleming's excitement petered out, but he still regarded the other man in an enthusiastic yet reasonably distant manner. "Your parents were very good; I couldn't even detect this Blessing you mentioned. Anyway, since you have nowhere else to go, maybe you could listen to my suggestion…"

"Suggestion?" Haruki tried not to sound too eager. Finally, these guys were getting to the point - the entire truth behind the Chimeras' collection of Humans with high Charisma, even resorting to Psychic Magic to better control them. Yep, he had his answer to the Human slaves' weird behavior of acquiescence to the Chimeras - they were influenced by magic, no doubt!

Fleming raised both his arms, placing them on the desk to form a triangular position. "How much do you know about Chimeras, er, what was your name again?"

"He's Addie," supplied Linus, who had kept guard silently the entire time. Haruki was a little curious about what the Chimera thought about his sorry backstory, but that had to be addressed later.

"Right, Addie. What do you know about the Chimeras?"

"Enough to know to avoid them," answered Haruki in a soft and hesitant tone.

"Ah, but from what you experienced so far, they weren't as scary as you thought, right?" Fleming appeared to be one of those concerned, patient and reasonable superiors at work, but Haruki knew better.

Still, the young Sovereign played along with a shy nod. "The other people here say the Chimeras were good to them and Linus had been very friendly with me since I arrived."

Fleming smiled pleasantly. "Yes, whatever you heard and learned about the Chimeras are just rumors and accusations. While they do have monster-like appendages and abilities, they were once Humans just like the two of us."

"Yes, aren't they failed experiments from the Nit Magedom?"

Haruki was reminded once again that his knowledge of the game and its characters was not all-encompassing. The Human Hero had a murderous expression on his face as he gritted his teeth. "What was that again?"

The Demon Lord audibly gulped and hastily bowed low, while inwardly wondering what was wrong with this Hero. Shouldn't he have absolute loyalty for the Nit Magedom, despite the horrors they created from their hubris? It was true that the Chimeras had an unfortunate fate and were only victims in the end, but the Nit Magedom had a good excuse for what they did. As a Hero from that same nation, Fleming should be aware of the circumstances, even able to justify the birth of Chimeras in a logical manner.

At least, that was what Haruki expected of Fleming. The Scholar Hero's attitude towards the Chimeras were not that of a forced follower or an interest-driven collaborator, but something more. He decided to check this angle thoroughly next time.

Fleming's misplaced anger was not yet appeased, but he seemed to have calmed down a bit. Though, a scolding was still in order. "Don't you dare call them 'failed experiments' again."

Haruki pretended to fidget in fear. "I'm sorry…"

"Lay off, Flem-Flem, Addie's just an innocent kid." Linus was in a relaxed posture, not showing even a single sign of being offended, despite his race and experience being discussed in full view.

The Scholar frowned at the nickname once more, but only sighed heavily. He changed back to a pleasant face, taking the guise of a responsible and mature Scholar once more. "Now, where was I again? Ah, the Chimeras, you see, they are-"

"Mr. Fleming! There's an emergency in the Infirmary!"

With a panicked call and a rush of footsteps, a new Chimera arrived and disrupted the conversation. Fleming was quick to move, taking out a few multi-colored vials from the shelves and then disappearing from sight, followed by the new arrival. Haruki and Linus watched them go with two different expressions - the Demon's out of hidden curiosity while the Chimera had a grim face.

"Er…" mumbled Haruki in discomfort, unused to Linus' statue-still silence. "Should I stay here until Mr. Fleming comes back?"

Linus gave out a frustrated sigh, brushing his silver hair into a mess. "Sorry 'bout that, Addie. Seems like Flem-Flem will be busy for quite a while."

Haruki had reluctance pasted all over his body as he spoke. "D-did something serious happen in the Infirmary?"

The half-wolf half-shark hybrid gave Haruki a stern and discerning stare, which was quite out of character taking into consideration his previous behavior. Now the Sovereign of Lust finally felt the oppressive nature of the Chimeras, finding relief that things went with his expectations this time. Despite how friendly they might be now, this minor faction of Verethragna Gloria were brutal battle-honed warriors at their core.

"Chimeras experience this illness we call 'mania'," explained Linus, who suppressed his dangerous aura after witnessing Haruki's shivering body. "As Flem-Flem said, we are 'Humans', but with monster limbs and stuff. We keep sane most of the time, but there are occasions where we can't fight off the feral instincts we inherited from the beasts they combined us with…"

The mention of "they" accompanied a ferocious expression and anyone could get the hint of who Linus was talking about. As for Haruki, he was of course in the know all along, even the circumstances behind this so-called "illness".

"Mania" was the Chimera's sole but extremely debilitating weakness. While they could live for hundreds of years, their grasp of Human sanity and reason dwindled with age. How else would such powerful beings remain a minor faction instead of a full-blown country? This trait was also integrated in their in-game mechanics; for every turn, Chimera units had a low chance of going berserk and attacking anyone on sight, friend or foe notwithstanding. The odds went higher as more turns passed, making them dangerous to keep in lengthy playthroughs.

In fact, the in-game quest to bring the Chimeras to your side included subduing the Chimera King, who had gone insane from mania. By defeating the feral King and ending his life as requested, a player could obtain his "heart", which substantially decreases the chance of recruited Chimera units going berserk, though it wasn't a lasting solution in the long run.

Haruki hadn't heard of a Chimera King from the information he had collected so far, but there was a high chance the Chimeras were simply keeping him out of sight. Probably for safety reasons, which meant that he should be suffering from terrible bouts of mania, so the "quest" should still be available for completion.

Still, it wasn't good to open up the idea of slaying their King when he was still considered a stranger in these parts. Haruki simply showed an expression of shock as he regaled Linus' tale.

"Flem-Flem had been researching for cures for some time, but while there was progress, there still wasn't a permanent solution. Some powerful sedatives could keep us from rampaging, but later on Flem-Flem learned we need to encourage our bestial instincts, not restrain them. So, um, the most effective way for us to control our mania is to, uh…"

Haruki's flawless acting muddled a bit after seeing Linus' flustered expression. The Chimera's cheeks were so red that it was impossible to excuse it as sunburn.

"Um, the Humans we keep here do… Ah… Some 'things' for us to release tension…"

The Demon Lord's mind went into the gutter, but he was sincerely praying that he misunderstood things.

"Ah damn it!" Linus was so done with his attempt of sugarcoating things. He crossed his arms and shamelessly met Haruki's confused gaze. "You're here to be someone's sex slave! Got it?"

Haruki had only three words to aptly summarize the entire situation.

Fuck, I'm screwed.