CK remembered the first time she made contact with alchemy. It was back at the Nonaphrontistery when she had been discharged from the hospital. She was told to visit the library building to meet someone who will help her with an alternative learning system until she could join her classmates for regular classes.
The libraries were empty, considering it was a school day when she visited. Thinking there were no witnesses to tell on her, she began to explore the halls of shelves, eventually ending up on the higher floors where the restricted sections would be in.
From academic literature and fiction to books with wordless covers and migraine-inducing languages—CK noticed how the books would change from flashy to old and worn-out as she passed shelf by shelf.
Then, curiosity killed the cat. The nosy sophomore chanced upon a shelf that had parted to give way, leading to a staircase leading upward to who knows where. There was a flash of alertness, but also a rich influx of Syntax energy.
It was nothing like the energy she was used to. Climbing the stairs, young CK would eventually find herself in a round room with walls made of shelves containing items foreign to the imagination—forbidden knowledge in jars and page-less books.
In the center was a young man, seated in the middle of a circle made out of thin outlines of chalk to draw out a pattern modelled from sacred geometry. CK was in awe. To even draw out such complex and elaborate patterns with a thin trail of chalk powder was almost impossible.
But then again, she lacked proficiency to understand how Magna Alkemia worked. Rings of energies would rotate in blinding speed around the young man whose eyes never opened. They curled and churned to create countless elaborate figures until one transmuted into a snake made out of fire.
Its eyes fell on CK, whose blood turned cold when she met its gaze. It hissed violently and lashed out towards her. Without as much as a thought, CK stretched her arm out with her glass pen glowing in hand. The snake bared its fangs to sink it into CK's body. CK slashed her glass pen before her, standing still as she watched the ribbons of smoke in the air around her.
'What…what was that?' she thought. CK could feel the harnessed energy in her finger tips dissipate, her glass pen returning to lifeless translucence. Only then did the young man open his eyes.
"So you have potential for the Muse. I thought I was expected to only babysit you until you recover," he said, giving CK an emotionless but observant stare. "Babysit?" CK was confused. Then, she remembered why she came to the library.
Seeing he was the only person she saw all throughout the building, CK expected him to be the person she was supposed to meet. She was in disbelief.
"So it's you. I was told I would be meeting a professor. Not…another student," she said. The seemingly young man looked at her sternly, "I am not a student, and neither am I a professor."
"Is this one of those mystery riddles wise old men give out to their visitors?" CK tilted her head. "…Tsk. It seems they haven't told you anything," the young man said and crossed his arms.
"Theodore Erzem. That's my name and I am expecting you to address me as 'Master Erzem' or 'Dr. Erzem'. All formal titles can be used, and you are by no means allowed to address me casually in any way or form," he introduced himself bluntly.
CK blinked in surprise. She's heard that name before.
"You're one of the Core Instructors that answer directly to the Headmaster. They said you're the most proficient wordsmith in the Nonaphrontistery when it comes to Magna Alkemia," she said in surprise. Rumors say he was young, but she didn't expect it to be true.
"So you do know me," Dr. Erzem said emotionlessly, his gaze turning cold, "The faculty has decided to hand you over to me until you've regained strength to join the regular classes. That means you will not complain about anything I tell you to do, and you will do everything I say. Is that clear?"
It was under Dr. Erzem's guidance that CK pursued wordsmithing through Magna Alkemia, but his methods sometimes conflict with the curriculum of the school. The school emphasized academic works while Dr. Erzem made it clear that for 'beginners' like CK, it was important to be actively experimenting and find as many ways as possible to contradict alchemical theories.
Dr. Erzem's methodology was more interactive than the academic approach of the Nonaphrontistery's curriculum. As such, CK was better used to following her master's steps. But there was one thing she had to consider: accessibility of materials.
She could experiment freely back when she was under Erzem's personal guidance because they had access to the school's resources. They could tamper with materials and undergo as many trials as necessary until an objective was met. She could interpret immediate results because of the access to laboratory equipment and make adjustments quickly.
Alas, that was when she was still a 'prized' student. And although luxurious and expensive, Kelter was bluntly a few centuries behind the Nonaphrontistery in terms of academic progress. Access to decent equipment would only be available to higher ranks. Right now, she was only a Count's daughter.
CK had pondered over the right approach to this problem for hours until she came to a solution: take inspiration from the Nonaphrontistery's curriculum. If there was one thing that Dr. Erzem's teaching and the curriculum had in common, it's the fact that beginning alchemists need external support to create transmutations.
In short, there needs to be a 'base material'. CK dug deep into her past and recalled that there was one reagent that Dr. Erzem recommended to use as a beginner: Hermetic talc.
It has plenty of names: 'transmutation powder', 'Hermetic powder', 'Alchemist's dust'—They all point to the same thing. It is the base material, and 'secret ingredient' added in order to complete a transmutation of almost any kind. It used to be a controversial topic among ancient alchemists because the right components to make Hermetic talc was still unknown. Thus, plenty of researching alchemists would debate over what materials would make the 'right kind' of Hermetic talc.
However, it was two decades ago when Erzem settled the debate with one of his studies. In his research, it is concluded that Hermetic talc can be created as long as it is made with materials with the following characteristics: high toxicity levels, a combustion level with an almost equal amount to its explosive power, and susceptibility to absorbing Syntax energy.
The mechanism of a Hermetic talc with these characteristics fascinated CK the first time she heard about it from her master. When transmuting an object, it must be first broken down before it can be restructured accordingly to an incantation. Thus, a need for something eruptive and a material that could contain large amounts of Syntax energy.
The same goes for live organisms. In order to transmute a live organism, the toxins need to be altered before it is sent to penetrate the organism's system and altered. Modifications can be made but as long as a mixture has all three characteristics, it can be considered Hermetic talc.
CK recalls that the curriculum also included the construction and theory behind a transmutational progress. If she applied those theories while still making use of the Hermetic talc in Erzem's teachings, she can still make progress.
But the creation of Hermetic talc will have to wait. While the days passed, CK has done her research on Kelter's resources and, as expected, there were no appropriate materials that could be used as experiments to recreate Hermetic talc.
This made the girl sigh. Some call this place the 'Paradise of the Rich', but that's about it. Kelter wasn't known as a place for academic or alchemical pursuits.
However…
CK's eyes glimmered conspiratorially. Rich people tend to develop exotic tastes and a habit of collecting things. Perhaps if she accessed a 'different' kind of market, she might find something.
There was one other thing that could help her. She extended a palm and tried to connect with the Pillow Palace. After feeling a connection with the storage room, she summoned an item with a thought. Seconds passed, and a book manifested in front of CK.
It was the relinquished Manuscript that used to belong to the [Maiden of Prayer]. CK smirked as she clasped it with both hands.
"All is not lost, at least," she said and giggled pleasantly while using the key to open the book. Surely, as an instrument of knowledge, it will have something that can benefit her. It was given to her by the Archetype of Rationality herself, after—
CK's smile froze when she opened the book. The first page greeted her with a lifeless flap, causing her to blink in confusion.
What? What is this?
"It's…blank," she said, "That doesn't make sense."
She flapped past a few pages and decided to head to the last section of the book, seeing nothing but empty tangible pages. CK's jaw almost dropped in disbelief. What happened to the Manuscript?!
"Don't…Don't tell me it turned into a normal book?!" she said skeptically. She pursed her lips and closed the book with a clean snap, "Malphas!"
"Dear, oh dear... What kind of misfortune has befallen on this planet for you to scream so hopelessly?" Malphas deadpanned as he emerged from the shadows, taking on human form. CK turned to him with a pitiful sniff and showed the book to him with both hands.
"It's blank! The Manuscript is blank!" she complained, showing the book to him like a toddler shows a broken toy to a parent. Malphas gave it a skeptical look before taking it for inspection. His deadpan look slowly turned into intrigue.
"The passages are gone," he said. "Right?! I've seen the pages before during the trial. They used to be transparent a-and full of texts! Now it's just a—" CK waved her hands in frustration, "A book!"
She tapped her foot against the floor with a rapid beat. Could the Manuscript have lost its omniscience the moment the [Maiden of Prayer] passed ownership of the book to her? That's basically cheating her!
"I didn't let the Archetype take away my Chapter just for this," CK's eyes flashed with momentary anger. Were her abilities are invaluable as an empty book?! Was that it?!
"Calm down, CK. Don't forget that my existence is tied to your subconscious. All your thoughts are making my head hurt, too," Malphas sighed. "I'm trying," CK said through gritted teeth and paced around.
"I was anticipating using the Manuscript as a convenient tool of knowledge. That's literally the use of the book. But look at it now. A book said to have caused civilizations to advance by millennia has now turned into an empty book," she harrumphed, "If I wanted an empty book, I could have bought an entire bookstore here on Kelter instead!"
"My mistress is very chatty when overcome by anger," Malphas mused. "Not in the mood for bickering, Malphas," CK glared at him, making him shrug.
"Like I said, you need to calm down. You're misinterpreting the situation. Just because the book has lost its flashiness doesn't mean it's useless," Malphas approached her and gently took her hand, "Here. Do you feel something?"
CK watched blankly as he placed her hand on the empty pages. A few moments passed in silence, and CK's knitted brows slowly came undone. There was a pulse—Similar to a rhythm or the colors only seen when the eyes are closed.
"There's Syntax energy stored in the book," CK said. "Exactly. The Manuscript used to be an omniscient tool because it was the [Maiden] who used to own it. But now it has changed owners, its potential has been tampered to correspond to its current owner's abilities," Malphas stated.
"So turning into an empty book means I'm stupid? Is that it?" CK hissed. "It means there's potential. Don't perceive it so negatively," Malphas tried to correct her, "Who knows? Maybe once you tap unto that potential, you'll have a flashier book with moving texts and obnoxious singing voices. Don't know, don't care—Just stop giving me headaches in a literal sense."
"…I appreciate the attempts to calm me down, but I'm still upset," CK grumbled as she looked through the empty pages.
"Because there's no shortcut to raising your Syntax Level?" Malphas asked amusingly, "Relax. You still have chockful memories of knowledge in your head. At least you can work with that."
"Whatever," CK sighed and walked back to her study desk. Once she sat down, she stared at the book sternly, a grudge against the situation becoming apparent once again.
"Well, since you insist on being an empty book, I might as well treat you like one," CK said. Taking her quill doused with ink, she began writing on the first page with a sinister grin.
"Hehehe. How you like that? You're nothing but a notebook for my experiments! Some all-knowing book you are…"
Malphas, on the other hand, stared with mild concern. The Manuscript that used to be fought over by countless nations over time…was now being used as a notebook by a hormone-fueled teenager.
Then, he shrugged his shoulders. She did use his dungeon as a place for napping. Downgrading an artifact doesn't seem to be out of character for his mistress.
"If there's nothing else, I'm returning to the…Pillow Palace," Malphas said. "Sure, sure," CK said, too immersed in writing to notice the morphing shadows beneath her chair.
Right now, accessing the black market was a priority. CK jotted down a checklist of materials that came to mind, crossing out those that she won't likely be able to access.
'I need to be careful not to get caught. But if it turns out that there really is nothing, then I'll have to focus on my skills once I leave for another world,' CK thought.
She spent the next hour in her room until she got up for a stretch. Her gaze fell on the window, her brows raising to see the bright golden skies.
She hummed. The event was to be held the next day already. CK returned her attention to her notes, deciding to think about how to present herself before going to sleep. Although the event wasn't about her, it was important to look presentable. She was a noble, after all.