The Hidden World of Nitea [2 | The Other Realms Series]

Chapter Eighteen

The sun had risen over the horizon, sweeping away any remnant of darkness in the sky. Giorgino glanced at his phone as he jogged towards the apothecary. He still had thirty minutes left; he then slowed his movement to a saunter. As he strolled towards his destination, his telekinetic hand dove into his bag and reached for a banana. He ate it as he walked.

Giorgino reached the apothecary a short while later, and only a single security guard was seen standing inside the building at the time. He tossed the banana peel into the trashbin and walked through the entrance. Before he could reach the back of the apothecary, the security guard stopped him.

"We're closed for today."

"I have to go to the lab. I'm Elder Giorgino Alunnori. Master Grimelda asked me to help brew the panacea," Giorgino explained. He projected a screen from his phone to show the message she had sent him.

The guard scrutinized its contents. He then pressed his finger against the scanner, opening the door. "Head to PANACEA3. You're assigned to Sector Seven."

"Thank you."

Giorgino walked past the guard and headed towards the laboratory, passing through a mist of disinfectant as he headed to his destination. He recalled the directions. Walk straight, take the second left turn, and enter through the second door on the right. He kept his eyes peeled for signs. He was correct. His eyes looked through the glass windows to check if anybody was already in PANACEA3.

A whole crowd was already waiting inside the laboratory. Some already had gloves and goggles on, while others were still donning their lab coats. Giorgino glimpsed their faces. He gulped as he recognized some of his classmates and his alchemy instructor among the sea of faces. Please don't see me. He opened the door, quietly closed it behind him, and sidled towards the closet containing the coats.

As he prepared himself for his task, he scanned the room for his spot. Sector Seven. Where was Sector Seven? He could not see any signs that marked the sections. After he had worn his gloves, he strode towards one of the brewmasters. Giorgino could tell that he was a senior brewmaster from the badge sewn into his coat.

Before he could come near enough to ask a question, the senior brewmaster reached for a microphone. "Attention, all brew mages, please report to your respective sectors."

Fwshh. Walls of light split the laboratory into three parts, with each part marked by a floating signboard. Sector Seven was located at the opposite corner of the laboratory. Giorgino paced towards it. To his chagrin, all his classmates were assigned to the same area as he was. He angled his head and skulked towards the back of the section.

Another senior brewmaster stood at the frontmost desk. Giorgino glanced downward at his table to check what the ingredients were. There was a vial of glittery powder, a vial of red liquid, an electronic balance, a test tube, a pipette, and a spatula. Giorgino recognized the second object: the vampire blood that he withdrew from Master Scarlet's husband. A chill ran down his spine as he recalled his time in Parafiso, and he wondered if anybody else knew that he had to give his own blood to acquire the ingredient.

"Listen closely, everyone," the brewmaster began. "You might be wondering why you're all here when you're still in your third year. I don't know whether the Gatekeepers have told you or not, but there's a human girl who's under a very strong curse that can only be broken by a first-class panacea. She only has a week left before the curse becomes permanent, and since there aren't any available—and there won't be for the next two weeks—we had to resort to other measures.

"One of you managed to find a recipe for a panacea that can be brewed in three days. We don't know the success rate of the recipe since we've never used it before. That's why we've gathered everyone here today—the more batches we brew at once, the more likely we'll get a successful potion. We know many of you have never tried brewing a panacea, so we've broken the process into steps that each group will be in charge of.