Chapter Text
Slaves.
A practice that had been abolished and condemned by the kingdom several reigns ago. In the shadows, there were still certain nobles who bought slaves, but they were rare to see.
That is why, when the young master of the Henituse household disappeared the day after the countess’s funeral, no one linked human trafficking to the case.
Cale woke up dazed; the carriage he was traveling in was rocking too much, and he was just sitting on a pile of hay. A few days had passed since he’d been kidnapped.
He’d been careless.
He went out to get some fresh air to clear his head, accompanied only by an ordinary guard since Ron was busy with the guests who still hadn’t left the mansion after his mother’s funeral. He had only walked a few blocks before he felt his strength failing and his vision darkening.
When he woke up, he thought they had kidnapped him to demand money from his father, but the men who were taking him just laughed at him and threw him into a battered carriage with a couple of other children.
He didn’t know they were spraying them from time to time, but it left his muscles weak and gave him a dizzying sensation.
With no information, he could only hope that someone would come to rescue him. He didn’t believe his father would sit idly by, and Ron had surely taken action as soon as he noticed his absence.
However, several weeks passed without any news. Cale realized he had been taken out of the kingdom when the slave traders hid him under some sacks. They had mainly tied his legs and arms, and they even gagged him so he wouldn’t give them away.
It was several hours later that they untied him. Cale and the other children were joined by a larger group and herded into a room that smelled unpleasant. From the children’s dirty clothes, he could see that there were all kinds of people there, from the rich and noble to poor villagers.
The next day, they were given white clothes to wear; simple, but giving the impression of belonging to some sect. They were loaded into simple carriages and taken to a large place. Upon spotting the guards’ shields all around and the great bell atop the building, a guess formed in his mind.
The Alchemists’ Bell Tower in the Mogoru Empire.
But that couldn’t be right. The bell tower was known for having begun to accept children from all over to teach them as an act of charity. Why would they need to resort to slave traders?
Cale and the other children were led inside; since the effects of the stun spray had worn off, his mind was now clearer.
They were put up in separate rooms and given basic materials to start their classes the next day, along with a dictionary of the empire’s language.
He was definitely in the actual bell tower.
He considered escaping, but only for a few moments. He was in the empire, with no allies or acquaintances. He didn’t know what he’d face out there, so it was a bad idea for several reasons.
A couple of kids decided to escape that night. Cale didn’t know what became of them, but he didn’t think they’d gotten very far.
The first week consisted of learning the basics of alchemy, and the final exam was to successfully build a small bomb.
The failed attempts by some participants left them with severe burns; two even lost parts of their bodies. This created a tense atmosphere and led to more mistakes. Those who failed were taken directly by some alchemists to another unknown location.
Cale cleared his mind. He took the materials provided and followed the steps in the manual with the utmost care. He had no mana-related abilities, so making a mistake was easy for someone like him. But he didn’t let that dampen his spirits.
Among the pile of tubes whose names he still couldn’t recall exactly, he began mixing the materials with concentration. The crackling of the flames and the sound of the elements fusing brought him a sense of calm.
After what must have been hours of refining materials, white smoke filled the room when he removed the vessel from the fire and placed it in the special water. Cale used a pair of tongs to remove the potion vial. His heart sank when he saw what he had created.
It wasn’t the shape the bomb they had been shown was supposed to have. Had he failed?
“You failed.”
A woman’s voice came from above his head. Cale made a great effort not to drop the vial, setting it down safely on the table.
“But… what is this?”
The woman brought her face close to the glass, watching the small flame swirling inside the vial. A smile slowly appeared on her lips.
“Not bad. What’s your name?”
“Cale”.
He didn't give his last name. Did it make sense to say it here? The woman nodded. With a gloved hand, she took the vial and motioned for him to follow her. This woman seemed important, so he followed her.
They arrived at one of the experimental zones. An alchemist took the potion and entered an area separated by a glass partition.
Cale’s eyes lit up with recognition when he saw one of the two children who had tried to escape on the first day in the experimental zone.
The alchemist poured the small fire onto the child and fled to the safe zone.
The small fire grew, consuming the child’s figure at an impossible speed. The child’s screams faded as quickly as his body, but the fire remained even as the body was reduced to ashes. With the same shape and intensity.
Cale felt disgust, but he hid it on his face.
“Boy, you created fire instead of the bomb we asked for. Not bad. You will follow me starting today. My name is Metelona, vice master of the tower. I will teach you to be an alchemist.”
And so, Cale was taken by Vice Master Metelona to the South Tower.
Adin regularly supervised the experiments being conducted in the alchemy tower. The faction had been gaining strength over the church ever since they announced they would help ordinary children who came to the tower, but he couldn’t let them get complacent.
That man had approached him; despite looking like a child, he was life itself. Adin had feared him, but following that person meant a future of great success. So he had to do all this to survive.
Today, he had arrived at the South Tower; this was where the most brutal and powerful experiments were conducted.
He was told that one of the slaves brought from Roan had shown great talent, managing to create a fire in the experiment zone that they still couldn’t extinguish. Metelona had taken him as a disciple and brought him to this tower in the hope that the boy would make some progress on the project that the man had asked them to work on.
Golems.
Collecting dead mana was something the lord had taught them; he had asked them to create golems using dead mana and despair and had given them some ancient materials, but several years had passed, and they had made no significant progress.
If this boy really managed to do it…
“Your Imperial Highness.”
Adin nodded with an affable smile at the man who guided him and let him into the experimental zone. In the secure area, Metelona stood with her hands clasped behind her back. She sensed his presence as he approached.
“Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to see you here.”
Small talk. He lifted the corners of his mouth despite his exasperation. Metelona was more diplomatic than the director.
“Yes, I heard there was good news.”
Metelona’s eyes lit up; she nodded and motioned for him to look through the glass.
Adin’s pupils contracted slightly. The boy was the same age and had the same hair color as that man, but Adin could see the difference once he got a clear look at the boy’s face.
What a coincidence.
The boy circled the small clay doll on the floor, put on a pair of gloves, and took out a potion. Inside the vial, a murky black liquid was visible. The boy sprayed the contents onto the doll, which only came up to his waist.
Nothing happened, but the boy smiled.
Suddenly, the doll took a shaky step forward. Adin could see that the boy had activated a lever behind the doll.
Metelona laughed joyfully at his side.
“What do you think, Your Highness? My disciple has managed to activate the golems, though for now only in this experimental form.”
His kind smile grew more natural the longer he watched the small golem take faltering steps.
“What is this disciple’s name?”
“He said his name is Cale. He has a good talent for alchemy.”
He was undoubtedly a promising prospect.
“I see he has worked hard.”
What these good-for-nothings couldn’t accomplish in years, this boy achieved just one month after arriving at the tower. Adin didn’t let his expression betray any change, but he decided to keep an eye on this boy.
Cale…
How much could he accomplish?
Cale collapsed onto his bed, exhausted.
The good thing about being Metelona’s direct disciple was that he had his own room with a good-sized bathtub.
Ever since the woman had brought him to the South Tower, his days had been very busy. He’d learned a bit about the horrors that took place inside here, but now that he’d drawn attention to himself, escaping was even worse, and he’d already seen what happened to those who tried to leave.
He didn’t want to die, so he had no choice but to stay here.
At least, alchemy was interesting. Before, he’d only heard about it from his mother, but seeing it and doing it was completely different. Besides…
They used dead mana.
Cale didn’t know why they wanted to create golems, but he’d also seen another group experimenting with dead mana bombs, though they weren’t having much success.
He’d been lucky; he figured out what was wrong with the golem potion and refined a better version, so today they’d congratulated him and told him he could take the day off tomorrow.
The key was despair.
Although it was a harder resource to come by, Cale obtained enough to power the small golem he decided to create as a test. It seemed like a waste of resources to use a larger form.
Cale believed that children wouldn’t be able to provide much despair. Most of them still didn’t understand what was happening to them; perhaps adults would be different. But he didn’t want to bring that up.
He heard a knock on his door and reluctantly got up to open it.
There was a low-ranking alchemist outside.
“The tower head is going to a meeting at the palace tomorrow. Since it’s your day off, you’ll go with him.”
So it wasn’t actually a day off. Cale confirmed a few details with the guy and then flopped back carelessly onto the bed.
It was said that the tower’s head disciple was a genius alchemist from the slums, but Cale hadn’t heard much about him.
Well, it had nothing to do with him.
The next day, Cale was dressed in a slightly more presentable uniform and taken to the North Tower to depart alongside the tower lord and his disciple.
The tower head’s disciple was a shy boy; he avoided eye contact and hid behind the tower head. He looked to be about twelve years old, but he didn’t seem particularly interesting. The tower head was a middle-aged man with a slightly coarse vocabulary, but overall, he wasn’t bad.
Cale shared a carriage with them to the palace. The tower head asked him a few questions about his progress, and Cale was honest. The tower head looked annoyed since his disciple wasn’t making any progress with the dead mana bombs, unlike him.
Luckily, they arrived at the palace quickly.
It was said that the emperor was a man of a frail constitution, so it was the Imperial Prince who received them.
He was somewhat stocky, but still growing; as far as Cale knew, he was only seventeen. Cale looked at his friendly smile and somehow felt that he was someone he shouldn’t trust.
After much small talk, the tower head set about introducing his genius disciple to the important men in the room, to spread the word of how kind the Alchemist’s Tower was.
Cale was standing in a corner when an old man told him that the prince wanted to speak with him.
‘I knew it.’
Metelona had mentioned that the prince had seen his success in the experiment, and then he had casually received the order to follow the director today.
‘Damn it.’
That was Cale’s thought as he entered another room and saw the teenager waiting for him with a cup of tea and a gentle smile.
He had caught the attention of someone dangerous.