Cosmic Illumination - JRPGesque Space Magic Academy

[X] Stay and start practicing the basics of alchemy.


"I can start now."

It doesn't take you long to make a decision. Even you are surprised by how eager you sound. Not to the level of wanting to celebrate in some fashion or anything along those lines, but you can already feel your mood improving, the tiny spark of happiness born from the fulfilment of an age-old interest settling comfortably and warmly somewhere within your heart. And ... you have little in the way of concrete plans, so you see no issue in spending more of your day here learning the basics of alchemy.

Baya beams. "Nyahahaha, then let's geeee-eettt cracking! Or cooking! Both work! Now just lemme go get everybody and everything."

Soon enough, you find yourself standing at one of the workbenches, a basket of assorted medicinal herbs sitting on the tabletop in front of you. And as if to answer your lingering questions of what she wanted to do, Theoxena has joined you, having chosen to follow Cervus-tiya down into the basement. Her expression as she looks around is a mixture of surprise and curiosity. You can definitely share that sentiment. It's still more than a little uncanny how professional the laboratory proper appears when compared to the lobby above.

The large black cauldron next to Baya, on the other hand, perfectly fits your expectations.

"You and Cervus-tiya are newbies, so I don't want to give you a hard job!" begins the older student as she sets up her own workspace. "That's a big no-no, so we're going to staarrrrrt with some really-really-really easy: health potions! They're the quickest and cheapest to sympathise. Synthesise! Also Cella says the infirmary really needs to stock up on some more."

She slots a tiny shard of cosmo crystal into the infusion device beneath the cauldron.

"Today, Big Telesio will show what you need to do to make the grrrreatest potions around!" She grabs a knife and what appears to be a neon-yellow hybrid of broccoli and a poppy (you remember seeing it in a book once, but the name eludes you). "You can't throw things into a pot without pep. Prep. It might produce a perfectly viable product, but it would be shotty - shoddy workmanship and utterrrrrly unacceptable for a Shangarf School creation!"

Baya Telesio punctuates her declaration by pointing the plant in the direction of a startled Cervus-tiya.

"Cervus-tiya, do you know how to make medicinal herbs more effective?"

The dark-haired girl pauses briefly. "... More contact with an active ingredient?" she offers.

"Cookie for you!"

Your self-proclaimed demonstrator nods satsifiedly to herself, making what you can best only describe as a pleased sound.

"It's really-really-really important to make the most out of the rrrrreagents!" says Baya. "You want to isolaaaate the active substances, increase the reaction surface area. Also sometimes an ingredient has multiple uses so you don't want everything mixing together because that would be bad."

She waves the plant at you. "This pappy's properties are perrrrrrfect for promoting healing, but it's also a painkiller and mouthwash. We only want to make a health potion, so all we need is the head!"

With an ease likely gained from years of practice, Baya Telesio removes the stalk from the plant, leaving only the most broccoli-like portion. She wiggles it in her hand twice, then throws it over her shoulder into the cauldron. You don't particularly understand what that little extra motion was for. Does it help in the alchemical process in any way? Your musings, however, are cut short when she gives both you and Cervus-tiya bright looks.

You quickly realise that she wants you to copy her.

"Leave the stalks for another time!" she continues, as you and your fellow alchemist-in-training begin cutting apart your own reagents.

It's a ... relatively simple affair. A part of you was hesitant given your ... lack of expertise, but you find yourself a lot less unwieldy than you initially assumed.

"Once you have the head, put it in the cauldron! Then we dump in the right mineral extracts and pump in aaaaalllll of the cosmic energy! But not too much! Don't do that. Neeeeeeever do that."

As you carefully carve away the active ingredient from the whole plant, Theoxena peeks around to take a look at your process.

"It's, um, a lot like cooking, isn't it?" she muses.

Your cutting almost stumbles.

"I, ah, don't have ... enough experience to make that comparison."

The shorter girl glances up at you. "You don't cook much?"

"... I am somewhat familiar with the usage of a knife," you say, more than a little firmly.

"Um ..."

"There will be absolutely no issues whatsoever," you insist.

Cutting apart plants is child's play. And entirely within your capabilities. There's certainly no need for you to think about anything else at all. Not that you would have a problem even if the situation required it. You just don't think it's relevant right now, that's all.

And definitely in no way especially fortunate for you, Baya decides to take that moment to interrupt.

"Small green child," she announces. "Do you wish to assist the Shangarf School? There are potion vials that we must rrrrready for the goop under that sink."

Theoxena seems briefly confused, as if unsure as to who the older girl is actually addressing. You would be too, if someone had referred to you by such a peculiar moniker. As clearly skilled as Baya Telesio is with alchemy, the ... eccentricity and bombast is very much difficult to get used to. Still, your roommate - friend - quickly acquiesces, scurrying over to the aforementioned cabinet.

Your attention returns to the basket of herbs. While everything else in the laboratory had been reasonably well-organised, you can tell that this demonstration on how to prepare health potions had been impromptu on Baya's part. Finding more specimens of the poppy-broccoli hybrid amongst the other plants in the basket (some of which you vaguely recognise to also be helpful for the physical condition) is rather cumbersome.

Something shatters against the floor.

"I'm so sorry!"

Theoxena is standing over fragments of glass, face stricken and pale as sheet, lips trembling with worry. She gingerly takes a step away from the mess, a box of empty potion vials cradled tightly between her arms.

"Oho, no need to pet. Fret!" Baya however, is entirely unfazed. She only laughs in that strange way of hers, putting down her tools and gliding over towards Theoxena. "Let me show you how the Big Telesio haaaaandles these things!"

The short girl crouches down and opens her mouth wide, and your senses detect a pulse of cosmic energy that suddenly radiates outward from her. Before your very eyes, the glass on the floor begins to move, dancing along the ground and darting towards Baya.

"Nyoonnnnnnnnnnnnnn."

... It's like watching a vacuum cleaner in action.

Fragments of potion vials twirl through the air, slowly melting away into motes of crystal sand that ... find their way straight into her mouth.

You're not unfamiliar with oral-based powers, but this is a little bizarre. And unhygienic. Wasn't the glass lying on the floor? How could Baya Telesio promote the use of protective equipment in the laboratory if she was just going to ... to eat things straight off the floor? Why not make use of some cleaning implements instead? What sort of disposal method required her to eat a potion vial?

"I make the vials alllll by myself!" declares the older student cheerily, completely unaware of your sheer confusion. "You have to rrrrecycle, nyahahaha!"

You don't think that's in any way a good explanation. However, Baya Telesio does not expand on her statement, instead returning to her workbench as if absolutely nothing at all had happened. As if she didn't just ... swallow glass like some kind of autonomous floor cleaning drone.

Theoxena is less ... nonplussed than you are. She slowly and carefully makes her way over to your side, gripping onto the box with renewed caution.

"That's ... um," she starts hesitantly, the shock of dropping a vial still an undercurrent in her voice.

"Miss Telesio did that yesterday too," Cervus-tiya joins in from nearby. "She says it's one of her ... many powers?"

"You pick up myriad talents here!" says the girl in the wizard hat from by the cauldron. "Now once you are all complete, brrrrrring me the ingredients, and we shall start the syyyyynthesissss lickety-spit. Splick? Curse that Iršaappa."

~~~

Once the reagents were prepared, the rest of the alchemical process was incredibly simple. Baya had you and Cervus-tiya throw in the flowering heads, along with a mix of mineral extracts from bottles helpfully labelled "for hp buff". From there, it became a simple waiting game, watching the cauldron's contents bubble quietly as magic flowed in from the cosmo crystal sitting in the infuser below.

"This will take two or three hours," Baya explains, her nose already buried in a notebook she's jotting something into. "Newbies, I won't keep you here if you have no wish to stay, so you may escape this lair for nooooowwww."

Cervus-tiya pulls the band out of her hair, letting her fringe fall over her forehead once more.

"I'll be getting food then, Miss Telesio," she says politely. She glances briefly at you and Theoxena. "See you two ... in class?"

She gives a casual wave, then climbs the staircase, out of sight.

You suppose you should pick somewhere to go as well:
[] Follow Cervus-tiya's example and look for something to eat. You are starting to feel a little bit hungry as well, but you're not too sure where you and Theoxena should go.
- [] The student cafeteria again.
- [] A place off-campus.
[] Head to Student Affairs. While the potions are synthesising, you can show Theoxena - and yourself - how the supposed "Going Home Club" is actually run.

[X] Follow Cervus-tiya's example and look for something to eat. You are starting to feel a little bit hungry as well, but you're not too sure where you and Theoxena should go.
- [X] A place off-campus.

The common perception of Šapinuwa focused predominantly on its status as a centre of worship. It was seen as a city of tradition, inextricably linked to Aniša's long and venerable history. When people spoke of the temple city, they would always marvel over the ancient architecture, the religious sites, and the legacies of the ancient serpent kings. Sometimes, the presence of Cosmodrivers would also garner a slight mention. However, forgotten amidst the heritage was the city's equally rich food culture, matched only in its plenty and diversity by the Zalpuwa Metropolis at the other edge of the wasteland. The dining scene in Šapinuwa was ever-busy, and there was no better place to gauge its pulse than in the districts surrounding the House of the Dawn, where the native cuisine of Aniša joined with its brethren from all across the stars.

At least, that was what your travel brochure had claimed.

However, it was definitely true that there were many restaurants sitting only a little more than a stone's throw away from campus. And while you could appreciate the variety in cuisine present, it made picking a place to eat a lot harder than it needed to be. So rather than belabour the decision, you decided that it was probably better to simply choose at random.

That was how you and Theoxena found yourselves standing in front of Diandian, a tiny bar-slash-diner just down the road from the House of the Dawn which - according to the sign outside its door - claimed to be the most famous cheese-based Aniša-Dian fusion restaurant in the whole of Šapinuwa.

Given the specificity of the boast, it was also likely the only cheese-based Aniša-Dian fusion restaurant within the temple city's white walls.

"Hey Sieghild, Theoxena. What's up with you two?"

A familiar voice greets the two of you as you enter. Iršaappa Ḥalluwa is sitting at the bar counter, a glass of cold prune juice once again in hand.

"Oh, um, hi sir!" Theoxena briefly pauses, sounding somewhat surprised to see him. "... And ... the sky is, um ... up?"

Incidentally, you're quite curious as to what exactly Aniša-Dian fusion cuisine is.

What sort of cheese-based meal does this restaurant specialise in?

"Ah, nice one."

As you and Theoxena take a seat beside him, Iršaappa Ḥalluwa's lips quirk up in a half-smile. Unlike you, he seems to take no umbrage whatsoever with your roommate's stupid and lame jokes.

You banish that mild (and now expected) sense of exasperation, instead focusing on the menu the bespectacled restaurateur (an aged man, formally dressed, wearing a black suit vest and red tie) slides over towards you. Some of the listed meals are familiar - you're not particularly surprised to see an example of traditional Aniša sweetbread (especially given the presence of ninda.ku on your teacher's plate) - but others are less so, or at least modified in ways that prevent you from recognising them. Though admittedly, you aren't the most familiar with Dian cuisine.

"... If you're having trouble picking," Iršaappa starts, breaking the silence, "the daily special is not too bad."

Behind the counter, the owner's brows arch at the words "not too bad". And you swear that for the briefest of moments, his felinoid ears had been twitching too. However, you're not given the chance to linger too long on the nature of his reactions, because his solemn gaze (infused with dignity by his well-groomed moustache and goatee) soon finds its way to you.

"Then I will, ah, order the ... nvxseiz casserole with honey and apricot," you say, glancing up from the menu. You don't want to keep him waiting. "Pardon my ignorance, but nvxseiz is ..."

"Fried cow's milk," replies the owner smoothly. "Usually it is served with rose sauce, but here we make use of honey in the traditional Aniša style. And, if I may be so bold, I would also suggest enjoying a glass of our suanmeitang as a complement."

That, you recognise.

"By all means."

The old man nods in acknowledgement, before looking to Theoxena. The shorter girl's face is scrunched in concentration as she studies the menu, trying to pick out something. She's ... putting quite more of an effort into her choice than you did.

"What's youdbap?" she asks.

"A steamed goat's cheese. We serve it with mulati - barley bread - and chickpeas."

"Can, um, I order that?"

"Very well, please wait momentarily."

While the owner disappears to handle your orders, you briefly allow your mind to wonder. In the week that you have been residing here in Šapinuwa, your culinary experiences have ... widened quite considerably. It's not unexpected, of course - you would be surprised if you didn't try new foods on a world so far from that moon, but coming to this cheese bar is reminding you of yesterday.

"Sieghild?"

"I was merely, ah, thinking that this is the ..." You pause for a moment, trying to formulate an explanation for her. "... Second new dairy product I have tried in two days."

There's a spark behind Theoxena's eyes. Suddenly, for no particular reason at all, your heart is gripped by a sense of incoming dread.

"It makes sense to, um, milk the most of being on a new planet!" she chirps sagely.

You stubbornly refuse to give in to the other girl's bizarre sense of humour.

"Isn't it common curdesy to acknowledge people's puns?"

Iršaappa Ḥalluwa's attempt at a joke, on the other hand, garners an awkward, bland stare in his direction. The understated manner with which he spoke ... him even deciding to follow up with a pun of his own ... you ruthlessly stamp down on the desire to make a retort. How ... how are you even supposed to respond properly to something like this?

"Ack, that wasn't too good, was it?" your teacher mutters, sheepishly scratching his chin.

Certainly not. You found it just as terrible in execution and content as Theoxena's.

"I thought it was," she pipes up, clearly joyed to find someone of (unfortunately) like mind.

"Thanks." The man takes a sip of his prune juice. "Anyway, how have you been doing? No problems with settling in?"

"None in particular."

Compared to the ... shameful turmoil of your first day, the week has been almost idyllic. A peaceful start to a new life.

"But, um, getting the screens working in our room was a bit hard?" Theoxena offers. "The cables were really confusing!"

"Ah, that stuff's getting along in years," muses your teacher. "Actually, I don't think they've changed much since I was at school."

That catches your attention. "You, ah, attended the House of the Dawn as well?"

"I did. Although it was about ..." He hesitates for a moment. "... a little over a decade ago now?"

Faced with your questioning stare, Iršaappa Ḥalluwa coughs. "Your conception of time gets a lot more bendy when you're old."

"Calling yourself 'old' when your hairs have yet to grey?"

Behind the counter, the restaurateur is tutting. He has your orders in hand, and slides them over the counter to you and Theoxena.

"Iršaappa," the aging man's ears twitch as he directs his gaze towards your teacher, "neither you nor Anzaze have changed even a hair since your student days."

"I feel like you're making a dig at my beard. Well, my lack of one."

"A possible assumption."

"... It's true, but still a bit hurtful."

The back-and-forth between Iršaappa Ḥalluwa and the store owner is entirely irrelevant to you. Your attention is entirely upon the plate of food before you. There's steam rising from your nvxseiz, likely a consequence of the meat wrapped inside the grilled cheese. Carefully, you slice off a portion and lift it up to your mouth with a fork. It's ... chewier than you expected. And the mix of sweet and savoury seems a little strange given the texture. But ... you don't find it distasteful or anything. Quite the opposite - in fact, it's very much favourable to your tastes, and you wouldn't say no to eating more of the nvxseiz casserole.

But as you make for another portion, your Q-Gear immediately buzzes.

As does Theoxena's.

You sigh, pulling the device out of your skirt pocket. Given the timing of the notification, you are almost certain that you know the culprit. And indeed, as you open up the Archaeology Club groupchat, you're greeted with a picture message from Neil - one of him cutely waving at the camera, while Widrafs looms behind him, making a shy peace sign, joined by the others in the club.

"About to head off :>)!" is captioned immediately below.

Your homeroom teacher briefly glances over. "Is that Widrafs?" he asks.

"Yes," you say, clicking out of the message. As much as you can ... appreciate Neil's likely motivation for sending the photo, right now there are other things you need to attend to. "Theoxena and I have, ah, joined the Archaeology Club. However, we ... decided against participating on their dig today."

"Oh yeah, it's good to first find your feet - if I'm using that idiom right - before you jump too deeply into club stuff." Iršaappa Ḥalluwa finishes off the last of his prune juice. Your own drink is untouched. "But don't worry too much if you think you're missing out. Widrafs is good at giving his kids a well-rounded experience. And you'll still have other chances."

Theoxena swallows down a piece of her own cheese. "Do you, um, know ... Widrafs well?" she asks.

"He only started working here last year," he replies. "He's not somebody who's, uh, the most talkative, but we get along fine. And he's got a strong talent for monster hunting, unlike me ..."

Something seems to occur to him. Your teacher's lips twitch for a moment, as if he's debating whether or not to say something further. You can almost see words flitting about behind his eyes.

He nods firmly to himself. "... Actually," he begins, looking you in the eye. "Sieghild, Theoxena. About last week, is there anything you want to talk about?"

You're a little lost. "I don't ...?"

Iršaappa Ḥalluwa scratches his chin uncertainly. "Ah, I wanted to know how you two were faring. Widrafs might have caught you, but getting thrown out a monster system is, well, not the most clean slate - I think that's right? - to start a year off on. You didn't come by the office over the week so I was wondering."

... An odd mood drapes itself across you. It's bubbling discomfort. That offer your teacher had made on the first day ... it had slipped your mind entirely. You had not considered it important, or ... maybe you had simply been too hesitant, frightened, to approach him after your disastrous speech. But now, with him asking again ... you can feel the tiny needle of guilt pricking your heart.

"Sorry," Theoxena says, giving voice to your own anxieties. "We ... um, forgot ..."

"It's not a big deal," your teacher says reassuringly. "I don't remember if I wanted to ask you anything specific, either. So if the two of you are okay, then it's fine."

Your voice is quiet. "Thank you."

He gives you a smile. "And my door is open if you're chewing off more than you can bite."

Another pause.

"I'm not using that one right, am I?"

"Um, you reversed it," Theoxena points out.

"Thanks." And once again, he's the sheepish doormat you have grown to expect.

The conversation lulls back into silence. You quietly continue with your meal, this time taking a sip of the suanmeitang you ordered. It tastes different from what you're more used to, but you suppose it was expected for conditions here on Aniša to produce a different flavour. The signature tang, both sweet and sour in equal measure, still remains.

"Oh, by the way," starts your teacher again. "I'll mention this in class too, and Illuyanka should've received a message, but the week after this one we're going to have a field trip. Not everything's set entirely in stone - this one's right - yet, but I thought I'd tell you a bit early."

"Field trip?" You can't avoid your curiosity.

"Just Zalpuwa to start," he explains. "I'll say more in class, but it's important for you kids to get used to helping out and, well, connecting with people from all places. That's also why sometimes people here in Šapinuwa request help from us. Students get some experience in fulfilling requests, clearing out the monster systems nearby and maybe earn a reward or two, while they get their problems dealt with. A win-win situation."

The mention of a monster system does not ... elicit the best of memories. But, you understand very well that handling such issues is expected of a Cosmodriver.

"And it's good to establish a rapport while you're living here," he adds."If you want, give it a shot today or tomorrow. Feel free to talk to people or get some training in."

You nod, filing his explanation for later. "I will keep that in mind."

After eating, you decide to:
[] Head out into the city outskirts to hunt monsters. As frightening as that experience at orientation was ... you want to train. You need to improve yourself against the most common foes Cosmodrivers will face, and better your skill with your blade. What can you learn solely in the heat of battle?
[] Return to campus and check up on your clubs once again. Besides seeing the fruit of your labours, you do want to know how Student Affairs operates.
[] Explore the city proper and connect with the populace. It makes sense to do so - after all, is your duty not to the people? And ... you were not particularly in the best of moods when you first explored Šapinuwa. This is a chance to see things that you missed.