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StLQ Chapter 9 - Alchemy
🕑 Added 2025-08-10 11:12:17 +0000 UTC“Isaac?” I asked. My friends and I were gathered on our usual spot at the dinner table. I didn’t see Luna anywhere. Honestly, I was kind of nervous about the upcoming study date. I’d spent my school day wondering how exactly I’d approach things for the best chance to get involved in the crime.
Still, the conversation with her had been strangely… nice. Almost nice enough to forget that Lich Queen Luna had killed me just two days ago.
“What is it?” Isaac said with a sigh.
“Has Luna ever hurt someone in school?” I asked.
“In what way?” Isaac asked.
“Like has she ever been violent?” I asked. “Everyone hates her, but I can’t remember her actually getting into any problems. Why does everyone hate her?”
“For fuck’s sakes, Kai, you really are in love,” Joshua said, leaning back.
“No, Josh, I’m on a mission,” I said.
“And you’re losing it,” Joshua said. “You’re headed to the biggest heartbreak of your life, Kai. There’s no way anything will ever happen between you two.”
“I don’t recall Luna ever being violent,” Isaac said. “She just acts weird. Like with yesterday’s snake incident. Ella said Luna used magic in school. Not that anyone really cares.” He considered his words and added, “But yeah, I agree with Josh. I don’t think you should get yourself excited, Kai. Luna has rejected everyone that asked her out.”
“Luna came to school wearing Kai’s jacket today,” Higu blurted out.
Joshua jumped from his seat and spat out his drink straight onto Isaac’s uniform. He grabbed Higu’s collar. “No shot. What did you just say?”
“It’s true,” Higu said, leaning back from Joshua’s stare. “I was heading up to class when I saw Luna and Kai enter together. Luna wore Kai’s blue jacket, and Kai wore some old red one.”
“My mom’s beautiful vibrant red jacket,” I added.
Joshua stared straight into my soul. “Kai… Explain.”
“Luna borrowed my jacket for a bit,” I said. “Hers broke apparently.”
“What do you mean she borrowed your jacket!?” Joshua asked. “How? How did you get her to wear your jacket?”
“I tossed it straight at her face,” I said. “She survived the impact, unfortunately. I thought she would blow up.”
“Offering a girl your jacket in Lokora is the straightest way to their hearts, you know,” Joshua said. “Holy shit, Kai, you might actually have a chance!”
“I also asked her on a date,” I said.
“W—” Joshua stuttered. “W… Huh?”
Isaac wore an amused grin, leaning back on his chair. Higu was staring at me. “What did she say?”
“She’s coming as long as it’s a study date,” I said. “Probably.”
“Yeah, no, fuck this,” Joshua said. “Kai, she’ll curse you for all the life you have remaining. Forget the date. Just join us at Bob’s tonight.”
She already killed me once, thank you very much, I thought. Then I paused and asked, “Wait, Bob’s is still open?”
“Yes?” Joshua said. “Of course it’s open? I think?”
“It is open,” Isaac said. “Higu and I are running the haunted house.”
Suddenly, a grin appeared on my face. Bob’s Funhouse. The legendary night club in Lokora’s town centre, aimed at the Academy’s underage students. Bob’s was arguably the best place to spend excess money in this town, or to just hang out after school. I had genuinely fun memories from that hellhole until its closing after the disaster.
“I’ll see if I have time to visit,” I said and picked up my tray. “Been a busy week.”
“Kai, you lucky asshat,” Joshua said with a sigh.
“Next up is alchemy, right?” I asked.
“Next up is a punch to your face,” Joshua said.
“Yes, it’s alchemy,” Isaac said.
I nodded. “I’ll go early. I might actually need to pay attention for this class.”
***
Alchemy used to be my favourite subject. It still was. One could argue that magic was actually just alchemy with the recipe formed inside a mage’s veins. Lichcraft was technically alchemy as well. Apparently, if a mage wanted to succeed as a spellcaster, they had to also succeed as an alchemist. Or so my teacher had claimed.
Personally, I didn’t succeed in either, but I genuinely enjoyed Johannes Longfield’s alchemy lessons. I had thirteen years ago, and I did now.
“Alright, class time,” Johannes said. “I missed my coffee, unfortunately, so you bunch will have to make up for my enthusiasm.”
Despite the words, Johannes was smiling. His black hair was rough and messy—the type of haircut that looked terrible on ninety nine percent of people, but Johannes somehow looked good in it. If I recalled, Johannes was thirty one years old at the time of the incident, but he looked five years younger.
“We’ve got a fun experiment today,” Johannes said. “We’re crafting greyroot wisdom potions.”
Ella lifted her head and asked. “Wisdom potions? I thought wisdom potions didn’t exist?”
“Oh, but yes they do,” Johannes said. “All of you will be making one right now.”
He lifted a small basin on his table and held up four ingredients. The greyroots, water, a vial of something that looked like some sort of juice, and mana powder: the active ingredient for most alchemical reactions.
“Wisdom potions classify alongside love potions as the most sought after requests for any aspiring alchemist,” Johannes said. “The dumb are always looking to grow wiser. Right here, I’ve prepared the ingredients for the strongest wisdom potion a customer will ever require. I used to sell dozens of these yearly during my years as a herbalist. And for good measure, we’ll be holding another competition. The winner gets one free ride ticket to Bob’s. Interested?”
The classroom suddenly filled up with whispers.
“Good, good,” Johannes said. “The rules are simple. The one who creates the most bitter wisdom potion of all wins. I’ve hired a tongue to do the testing. Good luck!”
Johannes laid out more of the ingredients on the table for students to grab. With everything ready, he went silent and let the students tackle the problem on their own.
Most chit-chat on nearby desks revolved around the question of what a wisdom potion was and how the hell were they supposed to create one without any guidance. Students picked up their textbooks for information without much luck.
I can’t believe I still remember this class, I thought. Thirteen years later, and the solution is clear in my head.
I glanced at the corner of the classroom. Luna remained on her seat with her attention toward the wall beside her. Luna didn’t get up to participate in the event. She was rarely invested in class activities.
I decided to head over. I grabbed a seat and joined her. “Not interested in wisdom potions?”
Luna turned her head vaguely in my direction. “They don’t exist,” Luna said. “Those ingredients won’t make anything.”
I smiled. The expression came out on its own. “They definitely do,” I said. “Not a wisdom potion. But they do make something.”
Behind us, the first explosion went off.
One of the girls whose name might have been Amber yelled out. A cloud of misty smoke blew up on her face.
“The smoke is harmless, don’t worry,” Johannes said. “But the potion is a failure. Does anyone know why the ingredients exploded?”
Students were still chit-chatting with each other. Nobody seemed to have an answer.
“Kai,” Johannes said, turning his grin to me. “I’ve heard the rumors. You’ve supposedly turned into a genius overnight.”
I flinched. “Maybe a bit?”
Johannes nodded. “As a reward for your efforts and prowess, you can expect to be scrutinized and called out by every teacher who all suddenly expect greatness from you. Do you know what caused the explosion?”
“Rule number four of alchemical reactions, sir,” I said. “If an active ingredient is added to an unstable mixture, an explosion will happen. Greyroots are, by design, unstable.”
Johannes grinned at the answer. “So you have turned into a genius. That’s a perfect answer.” He turned to the rest of the class. “I was planning on offering a hint, but Kai’s answer has already mentioned half of it. For the wisdom potion to succeed, you must figure out how to add an active ingredient into a greyroot mixture without causing an explosion.”
The rest of the class continued on their experiments. Except for my three friends, who were discreetly—the very obvious type of discreetly—staring at Luna and I. I ignored them and hoped that Luna would too.
“Impressive,” Luna said.
She didn’t sound impressed. “Alchemy is one of my best subjects,” I said. “Very useful. What about you? You must already know what we’re making, right?”
Of course you do, I thought. You exploded the cauldron. Anyone who’s experienced with lichcraft is a good alchemist.
Luna shrugged. “My tutors don’t care about my alchemy scores. It’s most important that I channel mana well.”
“Your tutors would probably benefit from a wisdom potion or two,” I said.
Luna shrugged. “Does the potion actually exist?”
I paused. The question seemed honest. Did Luna actually not know what we were doing?
“No, wisdom potions don’t exist,” I said. “Learning that is a part of this lesson. Herbalists sell wisdom potions if asked, but the potions don’t actually have any effects. They just taste so hideous that anyone who drinks them is forced to rethink their life, and thus, grow wiser.”
“So the goal of the competition is to create the most bitter liquid?”
“Quite literally,” I said. “Greyroots are already bitter. When combined with mana, the atomic structure is mixed up. I don’t really know the theory, but the bitterness is amplified. Before adding mana, you just need to make the greyroot less unstable.”
“Mmm,” Luna said with little enthusiasm. “You know the solution. Are you not making the potion?”
“I’ll do it,” I said. “I actually want the prize this time.”
I went to grab the ingredients, bringing them back to Luna’s table. I explained each step of the process in detail. Luna was listening, vaguely interested but far from enthusiastic. The tables around me seemed to be far more interested in copying whatever I was doing.
Ten minutes later, Johannes called time. Potions were brought to the front to be tested with a simple PH-scale. Around half of my classmates had managed to mix together something vaguely bitter. Most potions were a purplish color. Mine, however, was a healthy-looking turquoise.
The winner wasn’t announced yet. Now was the time for Johannes’s actual lecture to start. He explained the theory behind unstable ingredients in a way that could be replicated anywhere, not just for this experiment.
This was another one of Johannes’s tricks. He started lessons with something interesting, and he saved the conclusion for that interesting thing as the very last thing for class. His classes were like alchemy themselves.
After the lecture, his explanation of theory led seamlessly back to the competition and its winner.
My potion, as it turned out, was exactly what Johannes had been looking for. He admired my potion as the best wisdom potion anyone had ever created in his class. It was the most bitter drink, and it somehow looked the most edible, and thus would sell better.
As a prize, I received a ride ticket for Bob’s Funhouse. Any ride of my choosing.
“Congratulations to Kai,” Johannes said. “We’ll have tests next week. Make sure to study. Or don’t if you don’t mind hanging out in these classes for another year. Good night, everyone!”
My classmates began packing their bags. Some left right away, including Luna. A few girls stayed to talk with Johannes. I wondered if I should run after Luna again, but she probably needed time for herself as well. I’d pestered her a lot already.
I stayed on my seat, examining the ticket. Around two years from now, Johannes would be dying in prison as the culprit behind a horrific disaster. The same teacher that somehow made students form crushes on him was supposedly a mass murderer.
Johannes was involved in lichcraft in one way or another. That much was confirmed. But what exactly was his involvement with the crimes?
“There is just no way,” Joshua said, arriving on my table. “You’re an alchemical genius as well?”
I laughed awkwardly. “Alchemy was always my best subject.”
“Yeah, and you ditched helping us to hang out with your date,” Joshua said with a sigh. “Can’t say I blame you. But the betrayal still hurts.”
“Wait,” Ella said from a few seats over, her face opening up in confusion. “Kai is dating Luna?”
“Kinda,” Joshua said.
“Actually?” Ella asked.
“No,” I said with a laugh. “She barely even considers me a friend.”
“They’re going on a study date, apparently,” Joshua said. When Ella gave him a look, he shrugged. She pouted at me.
I ignored her and asked, “Alchemy was our last class, right?”
“Yeah,” Joshua said. “If you’re heading on a date, I’d like to have that ticket.”
I slid the ticket in my pockets. “Maybe I’ll give it to Luna, eh?”
I exited the class, to the trunk of the World Tree. I glanced down the spiraling stairway just in time to see Luna exit the academy, her hands in the pockets of her summer jacket as she disappeared into the cold.
Joshua stood beside me. “That didn’t look like your jacket, Kai.”
I sighed. “She’s a weird one.”
I exited as well, carrying my mom’s jacket home, and prepared for the date.
