Reaching for the Stars

Chapter Thirty

With the time and proper ingredients, I made countless poisons and their subsequent antidotes, Fluorite was an excellent test subject, with one taste she could tell me how someone would be feeling when they ingested the poison, how they would die, what the purity level was, as well as if my antidote would work.

She was right, she felt no pain regarding poisons, they did not truly harm her, which I was immensely grateful for, truly of all the blessings I had received she seemed by far the most useful and versatile, I did love this spatial world, but without her to tend to it and help me with things, it wouldn't seem nearly so good.

Because I seemed to have the best luck ever lately, though I'm sure it won't last long, Professor Takeshi surprised the class after the two rest days, instead of allowing the class to finish the potions they had previously been assigned he instead gave them a different task. "Now that we are part way into the year, after having had our first rest day, I have a different task for you then brewing a standard potion. I know each and every single one of you faced the entrance test to this academy fearlessly, and now I want you to do it again." The horrified looks on some of the students, meant that some of them had not done it so fearlessly.

"Don't worry I don't want you to ingest another poison, but I do want you to brew a poison, any poison, it is your choice, but know that I am grading on the difficulty of brewing it, the purity level, and the antidote you make for it, as well as the purity level of that one. The best poison, meaning the deadliest that has an adequate purity level, and a corresponding antidote that will actually work to neutralize the poison, will get a prize." None of the students made a move, as if waiting for him to continue, but he just gives them an annoyed look.

"The promise of a reward isn't enough for all of you? You want to know what it is before even trying to get it? Surely you don't doubt Ashara Academy's honor that much? Get to it!" He clearly grew annoyed and quickly forced the students into action, though several of them still looked reluctant to work when they didn't yet know the prize.

After getting permission to harvest two cuttings from the academy's greenhouse for excelling in potions, I wasn't sure what to expect for a reward. Though I guess not every student got the opportunity to get a cutting of their choice from the academy's greenhouse. Having practiced in the spatial world for the last rest day, which amounted to a month of time in the spatial world, I was fairly well practiced in quite a few poisons now. The ability to never get tired in the spatial world was something I cherished, choosing to spend every moment doing something without having to worry about food or sleep, allowed me to fully focus. Of course, I was usually starving when I awoke, but that was the result of spending a day in what amounted to sleeping, even though my spirit or mind rather was still busy working.

While most students seemed to know what poison to do right away, I had to think for a moment, with so many to choose from I wasn't sure. My knowledge of herbalism was vastly expanding ever since I was able to learn the basics here and finally understand the books I was left. Pill refining was still a work in progress, with no teacher to show me my errors, I had to figure it out for myself, thankfully the process had many similarities to potion brewing, making it easier for me to figure out where I went wrong.

My memorization skills and eye for detail was helping me greatly in my quest to become an herbalist, I am sure even with the time difference in the spatial world if I didn't have those skills I wouldn't be nearly so advanced as I am now, merely two weeks after starting at the academy. My poison choices were limited to something in a plant, because even though Marcellus' books contained many poisons from animals, I had no such access to those creatures, finally I decided on Creeping Frost Fern poison, a rather non-intimidating name.

But it was a rather deadly poison, the plant was engineered to hide in colder environments, to have a layer of frost on it so it blended in with the other plants, but this plant was carnivorous, and it would follow its prey, trying to get the prey to brush against it with bare skin, all it took was the slightest touch and then they were affected with its toxins. First it would start with numbness in the area where the poison was, the prey would think it is simply the cold, but that is the plants greatest defense, because by the time the prey knows it has been poisoned it is already too late, as the poison reaches their heart and paralyzes them.