Chương 47: Ingredients From Across The Cosmos

One of Arcoryx's key financial pillars is its research arm. With the sheer amount and variety of magical developments taking place within the halls of the academy, it had no trouble acquiring funds. The government of Androvia, the noble Houses of Vyrd, wealthy merchants and trading companies, and even the Old and New Churches all provided significant donations.

And in return, Arcoryx Academy ensured that research developed within the academy was often disseminated in a public fashion, usually allowing for rapid prototyping, testing, and hopefully, deployment. Naturally, certain areas of research garnered more funds than others. The development of Glyphtech for heat and light generation drew a lot more investment than redefining Severinus's Arcane Constituents. Rumour has it that the highest donations the academy ever received was for portal research.

Rifts, tears, and the like. Funds were said to peak at the low eight digits of gold. What was even more surprising was that it arrived at the height of the Realmbreaker Wars, when money had been tight and research funding was historically low. Sadly, this could never be verified as the academy banned such research and returned the funds before long, deeming it too dangerous. Even the funding records were stripped… Excerpt from Special Report: Academy Research City Magazine Errol K. Hmm.

Should Ryland have phrased his announcement some other way? Because the rather stunned silence that greeted him after he had said he wanted to research Calamities suggested he had made another small gaffe.

"Are you crazy?" Alendra had bulled her way to the front of the group to stare at him as though he had just said he was robbing a bank.

"I like to think I'm sound of mind and body," Ryland said evenly.

"Most of the time." She might have been the only one to immediately express her shock with words, but she was clearly not the only one experiencing it. Sedian's two apprentices were hissing and whispering with each other. Linsby and Sint had both paled. Even the junior Academ in Marvainn's shadow was looking like he really didn't think he belonged there.

"You can't just research Calamities," Alendra protested.

"They're Calamities, for—argh! Sint, you need to teach me how to stop letting his insanity get under my skin."

"She has a point there," Sedian said.

"How do you even intend to perform said research? No one here is a fool. None of us would be surprised to find that you possess… means of reaching Calamities on your own, should you so desire. Yet, you seem to be ignoring the fallout of such an eccentric, and frankly dangerous, line of research." Her apprentices nodded along with her every word, like it was all a universal truth. Hmm. High Academ Sedian was right, especially going by how no one appeared to be protesting her point.

She had astutely vocalized the concerns that everyone there shared. Concerns that were undoubtedly valid. How would Ryland feel if someone he didn't know suddenly stated they were adamant on researching the pieces of his original body and the apocalyptic phenomena they often transformed into?

"Admittedly," Ryland said.

"I do need to come up with a proper hypothesis. Or pick one to pursue, at least."

"Really?" Alendra said." That's your concern? Whether you've got your hypothesis picked out or not?" Tyra laughed, which was a sharp contrast against the deadly seriousness in her eyes.

"You've chosen a very… intriguing topic, Ryland. But you sound like you've put some thought into it. Or at least, that you have multiple directions of research you can pursue."

"Indeed," Ryland said.

"My current favourite is one that proposes a rapid response framework for the detection and nullification of any Calamity. Even though I know that's an incredibly difficult idea to sell because of the inherent nature of Calamities." Tyra nodded, then turned to her colleague.

"There, Sedian. You see? He's researching how to stop Calamities."

"Hmph." Sedian's lone eye shone like a little sun.

"You may as well start experimenting on how not to blind yourself when looking at the sun by looking right at it."

"… I can look directly at the sun," Ryland said simply. Just to prove his point, he looked straight up. The others followed his lead and did the same, only to cry out and sharply glance away while muttering a curse here and there. Ryland's Glyph of Dawn was still swimming among all the other light-emitting Glyphs thrown up at the start of the seminar, and its luminosity was as blindingly intense as ever.

Something Ryland didn't struggle with at all because his current body's Inscribed eyeballs were inured against blindness from light.

"That isn't my point!" Sedian said. She said it so sharply, several others glanced at her.

"It's alright, Sedian," Tyra said.

"Ryland clearly means well." He did! Or at least, he liked to think he did. Not everyone saw it that way, unfortunately. But the small silver lining was that Sedian's interest in Ryland was rapidly cooling. No longer was she as determined to get him to work for her, which was honestly something he rather appreciated. The same couldn't be said for Marvainn, however.

"That is certainly a…" The forgean High Academ struggled to find the right words for a moment.

"An incredibly ambitious hypothesis."

"I like to think, High Academ," Ryland said.

"That if one must aim for something, why not aim for the stars?"

"…indeed." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Tyra clapped her hands.

"So, Ryland. You've stupefied everyone present and have taken centre stage. Yet, you still haven't made a choice. Which one of us would you like to collaborate with?" Ryland was about to answer, when he noted that the others seemed to be hanging on his words, waiting with bated breath to hear what he had to say. It was odd. Nothing he was about to utter had any bearing on the lives of most of those who had gathered here. So why in all the Realms were they so enraptured?

Sighing at how unfathomable it seemed, Ryland said, "If you don't mind, then I'd prefer to work with you for the time being, High Academ Tyra. Just as Sint and I have already discussed." For all that she was supposed to be a dignified High Academ of Arcoryx Academy, Tyra couldn't help but turn a gloating expression onto Sedian and Marvainn. At least she didn't rub it in their faces. They parted amicably.

Kendren begrudgingly admitted that he'd do well to get in touch with his supposed mentor, while Alendra reiterated that her research would still outshine Ryland's no matter how outrageous his hypothesis seemed. She got a very strange look when he said that his Calamity-investigating idea was somewhat inspired by her Living Mana topic. Sint did promise Alendra that she'd teach the other woman all her anti-Ryland abilities, which bemused him greatly.

Marvainn and Sedian left with their entourages, though not before they had wished Ryland luck on his ventures and reminded him that their doors were always open to him. Although, not for his research into Calamities. Figured. With the seminar over, Ryland, Sint, and High Academ Tyra found their way to one of the transport platforms and headed off. It was time to see their deal through. By the time the seminar had ended, it had gotten rather late. None of them were bothered by it, though.

Ryland could have done without sleep for at least two decades straight if needed. Meanwhile, both Sint and Tyra gave the impression of incorrigible night owls. Within minutes of arriving at the Department of Herbology and Potions, they were well past the point where Ryland had stopped. It seemed the High Academ's target was much deeper. Which was good because they were more or less headed in the direction pointed to by his Glyph of Questing.

Despite Ryland stating that he would be bringing a letter of reprimand, it seemed the High Academ had other ideas.

"You are henceforth relieved of your duties," she said when they reached the attendant who had more or less tried to encourage a bribe from Ryland for entry into the restricted sections.

"For the next month." The attendant wrung his hands in protest, his eyes wide with shock and fear.

"But High Academ—""With immediate effect," Tyra continued, her words drowning out the man.

"Be grateful that it isn't anything more severe."

"I—""The words were uttered. We have proof. Regardless of its standing as a joke or not, it was a grievous offence." The man, finally, looked down with shame. Then he shuffled away. With that unpleasantness dealt with, they went through the rest of the large storage area to reach their destination. Ryland was a little fascinated at the way Tyra went deep into her department's defences with zero trouble. At every stage where she might have been stopped, she flashed out a bright Glyph of Identity.

This worked both for the Inscribed Glyph barriers and Glyphtech security, as well as the more human obstacles.

"Here," High Academ Tyra said when they reached a metal-lined chamber big enough to hold the average, non-noble house in Arcoryx City.

"This is the third Experimentation Chamber. We should be safe here." Ryland was glad to hear that safety was one of her top priorities.

"Then let us begin," he said. Of course, he couldn't just open up rifts and pull in whatever he wished. Well, he could and he was going to do so, but there were certain precautions necessary, even aside from ensuring the general safety of the department. For instance, the first of his targets was essentially a living seed that had to be sowed into the best soil the department could provide immediately upon being summoned." [Translocate]," Ryland said.

Both Sint and her supervisor stared at the rip in reality that led to Realm 44. The High Academ got especially close, observing the gilded edges of the rift with an academic glint in her eye. Ryland was half-expecting her to pull out paper and a pencil to start taking notes. But she was distracted by the wash of gleaming green fluid that streamed out of the rift and into the soil. Ryland dismissed the rift after a moment.

"Fascinating," Tyra murmured, kneeling next to the bucket of now-glowing soil, shocked awe evident in her wide eyes.

"Impossible. Unbelievable." The packed earth was already splitting apart as new life emerged from its depths. Ryland smiled at the plant slowly rising out of the bucket of soil, its bark resembling greenish, crystalline matter not that dissimilar from the ones summoned by [Unmaker's Sentence].

"We are the first cultivators of the Unlife Tree on Vyrd in centuries," Tyra said with no small amount of awe.

"Sint, I bless the day I made contact with you." Ryland chuckled. The next thing he brought out was a—"A ferret?" Sint asked, looking around at the gaudy orange creature bouncing around everywhere.

"Fascinating!" Tyra said with eyes wide and round again. She was busy casting up a caging spell of sorts, specially prepared for their energetic little quarry.

"And it's not a mere ferret. It's a Speyrn. Their fur has many interesting characteristics, though the one we're most interested in is their conditional magic-suppression properties." Ryland watched the creature fling itself around the room.

"Yes. Speyrn are stifled on their home world, in great part due to how their fur reacts to the atmosphere on Realm 80."

"Quite." It would have been a little alarming to see the Speyrn this seemingly agitated, but he knew that the creature wasn't stressfully trying to find an escape route. Rather, it was just exercising away the suddenly boundless amount of energy it had attained.

"Sint," Tyra said.

"Please be a dear and catch it." Sint looked like she was trying to suppress predatory instincts.

"M-me? Are you certain, High Academ?"

"I just need you to keep it occupied until my spell is ready. We don't need to keep the poor thing trapped here any longer than we need. I'll just pluck a few bits of its fur and we can let it go." Sint bravely tried to comply with her mentor's command. She didn't have much success.

"Come back here—wait—don't— argh —oof!" That last one occurred when she nearly collided with Ryland, who had stretched out a hand and caught the furry little beast.

"Here you are," he said, handing the squirming Speyrn to Sint. It tried to bite her, and she looked like she was suppressing an urge to return the favour, but she eventually held it far from herself.

"Thanks," she said with great reluctance.

"There," Tyra said." [Extraction Cage]. You can proceed to the next one, Ryland." Her spell created a strange forcefield around the Speyrn that automatically began gently snipping off some of its brilliant tangerine fur. The magic was so potent that the creature didn't dare move. Sint looked tremendously relieved. Ryland nodded and proceeded to the next item on Tyra's list." [Translocate]." Nothing emerged from the rift. Instead, Ryland plunged his hand into the tear in spacetime.

What followed were several thundering screeches and roars, lots of scratching, clawing, and biting noises, several wet and horrific squelches and tears, and a wildly dreadful howl that made the metal walls of the chamber shiver as the Speyrn curled into a ball of pure fright. And then he pulled his entirely unbloodied hand out with a curling spike that was half again as tall as he was.

"Here you are," he said, placing the spike before Tyra.

"One of the spikes of a Realm 15 Seasonal Grandbeast's tail. Don't worry, they're like nails. I simply snapped off the end. Other than a bit of fright, the Grandbeast should be fine." The High Academ's eyes were round and shiny again." Fascinating."" Horrifying," Sint squeaked, too low for her mentor to hear. Tyra clapped her hands in excitement.

"Only one more left. Last, but not least!" Ryland smiled." [Translocate]." The last rift was supposed to be another one where Ryland could pull out Tyra's final wish—a fruit made of volcanic stone that supposedly had mana cores, the unhatched state of manasouls, which was rather incredible. Ryland didn't know of any other naturally-occurring plants with mana cores in their fruits. But just as the rift settled, a slow trail of violet vapour seeped out of the rent.

A trail that made both Tyra and Sint immediately tense in fright.

One that had already started tugging invasively on Ryland's mind.

"Stand back," he said, trying to sound as casually calm as ever despite his rising alarm.

"That's a Calamity."