(Arin's POV)
The atmosphere in the Headmistress's office changed drastically from tense to confused in just a matter of minutes.
The mahogany double doors opened with a dramatic slam that startled everyone. A familiar figure stormed in with a crumpled face, resembling a failed exam paper squeezed in frustration.
Doctor Edna.
She was still wearing cat-patterned pajamas covered by a haphazard white lab coat. Her green hair stuck out at two o'clock and ten o'clock angles, creating a strange horn-like silhouette. Her eyes emitted a murderous aura so thick it could be felt physically.
"If the reason you called me at two in the morning is not related to a contagious disease outbreak or mass student deaths," hissed Edna while throwing her bottom onto the empty chair next to Karim. Karim reflexively shifted away for his life's safety. "I swear I will poison all your morning coffee tomorrow with horse laxatives."
Selena Rhyms massaged her temples, which were throbbing harder. She looked five years older in these last five minutes.
"Do not ask me, Doctor. Ask this greedy brat," Selena pointed at me. "He is the one who requested your presence as a condition for continuing negotiations. He said you are a future shareholder."
All eyes turned to me. I felt like a defendant in court, the difference being this defendant held an unbeatable Ace card.
"Sorry to disturb your beauty sleep, Doc," I said, smiling widely without a shred of guilt. "But we are going to discuss the future of your wallet. Remember the five percent share I promised at the hospital? Tonight we will discuss the factory."
Click.
Hearing the magic words "share" and "factory," the drowsiness in Edna's eyes vanished instantly. Her murderous aura evaporated, replaced by the sharp eyes of a businessperson or more accurately, money-grubbing eyes sparkling at the sight of piles of gold coins. Her cat pajamas suddenly looked professional and authoritative.
"Very well," Edna crossed her legs, her attitude changing one hundred eighty degrees to become very cooperative. She tidied her hair with her fingers. "Speak. What is your plan? Renting a warehouse in the slum industrial district? Buying golem slaves for cheap labor? I have a contact for used golem distributors."
"Neither," I answered.
I walked to Selena's desk, took a piece of blank paper and a quill, then began drawing a rough sketch quickly.
"We won't build a building. We will use nature."
I turned the paper so they could all see it. A drawing of a large plant with a giant pouch and a swollen belly.
"Giant Pitcher Plant," I explained proudly. "We will use it as a biological fermentation tank, or more simply, an artificial womb for our mushrooms."
Silence seized the room. An awkward silence full of question marks.
Rose stared at the drawing with a look of disgust as if seeing dragon dung. Elena frowned, trying to find the sanity in this idea. Meanwhile, Karim and Edna looked at each other with skeptical gazes.
"You are crazy," commented Edna flatly. "Arin, you know how that plant works, right? It is carnivorous. It eats meat. It produces strong acid to digest prey into pulp. If you put penicillin mushrooms into it, the mushrooms will die digested in minutes. You won't harvest medicine; you'll just give that plant an expensive lunch."
"Correct," added Karim, his voice heavy and weary. "And that plant is wild, Arin. How do you control the temperature? How do you prevent contamination from the dirty forest air? You think it is a soup pot in your mother's kitchen?"
I smiled, tapping the drawing with my index finger like a kindergarten teacher patiently dealing with students.
"That is why I need you guys. We won't let it be wild, but modify it."
I looked at them one by one, channeling my conviction.
"We need someone to dissect the biological circuits of this plant. Deactivate its digestive acid glands, but strengthen its cell walls to be airtight and temperature stable. Then, we will install a layer of Clear Slime at the plant's mouth as a natural air filter to screen out bad bacteria and wild spores."
"Advanced biomimicry..." muttered Edna, her eyes starting to sparkle understanding my crazy concept, though her mouth still implied doubt. "Turning a predator into a biological incubator. That is... genius. Unfortunately, it is impossible."
"Hmmm... Why do you think so?" I asked.
Edna shook her head. "I am a human surgeon, Arin. I can connect muscles and bones, but genetically engineering a monster plant? That requires a high-level magic biologist with a slightly screwed-up brain. Who in this academy has abilities that wild?"
Karim nodded in agreement. "The botany instructors here are too rigid. They only know how to plant ornamental flowers for noble gardens, not dissect and restitch the nature of things."
I turned to Selena. The woman sat silently on her throne of power, observing our debate with a face of weary resignation.
"There is one person," I said softly. "One person who wrote the book 'Anatomy of Magic Circuits in Monsters'. The person whose theory saved my life and Lady Elena's."
Selena's eyes narrowed. She knew who I meant. Her bad feeling was confirmed.
"Ghislain Bassil."
The name made the room temperature drop several degrees. Karim flinched as if hearing the name of a demon forbidden to be spoken, even Edna looked uncomfortable and adjusted her pajama collar nervously.
"No," refused Selena firmly, hitting the table lightly. "That old man is insane. He was exiled from the Mage Tower for trying to transplant a Wyvern heart into a live horse! As a result, the horse exploded and destroyed a tower block! He is a disgrace to the academic community. I will not allow him to step foot in my Academy."
"He is not a disgrace, he is a misunderstood visionary," I argued passionately. "And Grandma... sorry, Your Excellency Headmistress, we need a madman for this crazy project. If you want mass production in three months as per my promise, we need Ghislain's madness. No one else can do it."
"Grandmother..." Elena finally spoke up. Her face looked tired; it seemed she had given up on the sanity of this team. "Arin is right. If we want to compete with the Alchemist Guild monopolizing the medicine market, we cannot use conventional methods. We need monsters to fight monsters."
Selena looked at her granddaughter, then looked at me, then sighed a long breath that seemed to exhale half of her remaining lifespan. She looked like she desperately needed a long vacation on a deserted island.
"Fine. I will send a summons letter. But if he blows something up, or turns students into frogs, it is your responsibility, Arin."
"Deal," I answered quickly. "One more thing."
"By God, what else now?" Selena massaged her temples again. I was worried she would have a stroke tonight.
"I need land," I said bluntly. "I request permission to use one-quarter of the Northern Sector Monster Forest as a farming location."
"WHAT?!"
This time Selena, Karim, and even Rose shouted simultaneously. The harmonization of their screams was enough to shatter glass windows.
"You want to annex the academy's military territory?!" snapped Karim, standing from his chair until it tipped over backward. "That is a student exam site! You cannot fence off a quarter of the forest just to plant your rotten mushrooms!"
"That is crazy, Arin," added Rose, shaking her head in disbelief. "The School Board will fire Grandmother if she allows a student to control school property assets that vast. You want to make your own country there?"
Selena stared at me with a gaze that could freeze hellfire. "You are pushing it, Kid. I gave you money, weapons, and library access. Now you ask for school land?"
"Listen first," I said calmly, raising a hand to calm the masses. "This is temporary. Proof of Concept."
I looked at Elena, sending an SOS code via eyes. Help me or your factory fails.
"We cannot immediately build a large facility in the Rhyms territory in the North. That is too far, logistics are hard, and it will arouse suspicion from your political enemies. But the Academy Forest? It is right here. Under our noses. Protected by magic walls, rich in mana for mushroom growth, and full of monster carcasses as free fertilizer."
I stepped forward, placing my hands on Selena's desk in the style of a reliable salesman.
"Give me three months. Allow me to turn that corner of the forest into a gold factory. Once this method proves successful and profitable, we move the entire operation to Duke Rhyms' territory. By then, no one will protest because money already talks."
The room went silent again. The logic of profit was always the most potent weapon against nobles. The sound of imaginary coins jingling began to be heard in their ears, drowning out the voice of common sense.
Elena sighed deeply, tapping her own forehead. "My head hurts... You are really good at dragging people into your problems, Arin."
She turned to her grandmother. "Grandma, just allow it. Consider it... an extracurricular activity of the Science Club. We can fake the report."
"Extracurricular controlling a quarter of the forest..." sneered Selena sarcastically, but the corner of her lips lifted slightly. She surrendered. Or rather, she was tempted.
"Fine," decided Selena while slamming her pen onto the table. "Karim, clear the Northern Sector of student exam schedules for the next three months. Just say there is... ecosystem recovery post-Golem attack. Or whatever, you are good at lying."
Karim nodded resignedly. He looked like he wanted to cry. "Yes, Your Excellency. I will invent a good excuse."
"Now get out, all of you," shooed Selena while waving a tired hand. "Before I realize how crazy this decision is and cancel it. Go! I want to sleep!"
(The Next Day - Post-Final Semester Exam Holiday)
Overcast skies hung over the outskirts of the capital, giving a gray nuance to the slum district rarely touched by knight patrols. The smell of industrial waste and coal smoke stung the nose.
I stood in front of an old building that looked more like a haunted house than a laboratory. Its stone walls were mossy, windows boarded up with wood, and there was a warning sign "CAUTION BIOHAZARD" nailed crookedly on the front door.
Beside me, Doctor Edna covered her nose with a silk handkerchief, her face showing maximum disgust. Her expensive shoes clearly did not match the mud here.
"Are you sure this is the place, Arin?" asked Edna, her voice muffled by the cloth. "This looks like an illegal body dumping ground. Or a demon summoning ritual site."
"The address given by the Headmistress is correct here," I answered while matching the paper in hand with the house number that was almost falling off.
Instructor Karim, who came along as a bodyguard (and forced shareholder), knocked on the rotting wooden door with the hilt of his sword. He looked very wary, as if the door would bite him.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
"Mr. Ghislain Bassil? By order of the Academy Authority, we request you come out!" shouted Karim with his baritone voice.
Silence. No answer. Only the sound of crows cawing in the distance, adding a cheap horror effect.
"Maybe he is dead," muttered Edna hopefully.
Suddenly, the sound of hinges screeching that hadn't been oiled for a decade was heard. The door opened slightly.
Not a human face appeared.
But an eye.
A large, bulging eye, and... attached to a flesh tentacle protruding from the door crack like an organic submarine periscope.
"KYAAA!" Edna screamed suppressedly and took a step back, nearly tripping on her own dress. Karim reflexively drew half his sword, cold sweat dripping on his forehead.
"Who..." a hoarse and trembling voice was heard from the darkness of the house, not from the tentacle. "Who disturbs my experiment? I am busy!"
The door opened wide.
An old man stood there. His white hair stuck out wildly in all directions like electrocuted. His mage robe was full of colorful liquid stains and... was that blood or tomato sauce? I hoped it was tomato sauce.
But the most terrifying thing was what he held. In his left hand, he held a jar containing a still-pulsating brain. And the eye tentacle earlier... turned out to be connected to his back, a result of horrifying yet perfectly functioning magic grafting.
Ghislain Bassil. My idol author. The mad scientist. The legend lived!
He stared at us with his human eyes and tentacle eye simultaneously. His gaze was wild, unstable, but implied terrifying intelligence.
"You..." he hissed, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. "You bring the smell... of the Academy. The smell of bureaucracy and rotten rules! I already said I do not want to go back!"
He was about to slam the door, but I stepped forward quickly, holding the door with my foot.
"Wait, Professor!" I exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Leave! I do not need your research funds or ethics!" shouted Ghislain hysterically, waving his brain jar. "You do not understand art! You do not understand the beauty of flesh and mana! You only care about pseudo-morality!"
"I do not come bringing ethics," I said quickly, staring straight into his crazy eyes. "I come bringing proof."
I rolled up my shirt sleeve, revealing my dense and slightly strangely pulsing arm muscles. I took a folding knife, then casually slashed the arm.
Slice.
Blood came out. Karim wanted to scream, but stopped. The wound closed in seconds. Low-level regeneration due to the Grizzly Serum.
Both Ghislain's eyes on his face and the eye on the tentacle widened synchronously. He stopped rebelling and unconsciously dropped the brain jar in his hand.
Crash!
Preservative fluid and brain spilled onto the floor.
He snatched my arm with his thin hand as strong as iron pliers, bringing his face close until our noses touched. He sniffed my wound like a tracking dog, then... Damn it! He licked the remaining blood there.
Edna covered her mouth, holding back vomit.
"This taste..." whispered Ghislain, his voice trembling full of ecstasy as if just tasting the finest wine. "Grizzly cells... no, this is purer... you unified them with a human body without rejection? How? What recipe did you use?"
He looked up at me, his crazy gaze turning into fanatical admiration.
"Kid... what creature are you?"
I grinned widely. Finally, someone on the same frequency as me.
"I am Arin. A big fan of your work. Your theory in Chapter 4 about monster cell assimilation... I succeeded in doing it, Professor," I explained proudly.
"Really?!" Ghislain's eyes bulged.
"Yes. And I have an offer far crazier than grafting an eye on the back."
Ghislain grinned back, displaying a row of yellow teeth rarely cleaned.
"Come in," he said, pulling me into the darkness of his formalin-smelling house. "Tell me. And do not leave out a single detail. Your boring friends can come in if they do not vomit."
The door closed behind us, swallowing us into the belly of magic science madness, leaving Edna and Karim still dazed outside.
"He... just licked Arin's blood?" asked Edna in horror.
"Yes," answered Karim weakly, sheathing his sword. "I think they are soulmates."