Sorry for the slow updates. I ended up breaking three of my fingers and can barely type right now.
On top of that, the medical bills have been pretty overwhelming. If you're able to support me, I'd really appreciate it. My Patreon is $10/month, and you'll get access to 20 chapters ahead.
https://www.patreon.com/cw/Thanarit
"Ehh, hello?"
"Doctor! I long heard of your name!"
"You said that already." Ren stepped back from the hug. "And what have you heard about me? I've been here four months."
"You cured my daughter!" Silas beamed.
"Which one."
"Tara Mordane!"
Ren went quiet.
She signed a non-disclosure agreement, he thought. Why does this man know.
"She didn't say anything," Silas said, still beaming, apparently reading the question from Ren's silence. "This old man is her father. And her personal physician."
Lu Changcheng smiled from behind his desk with the expression of a man who was staying out of this.
"I tried to cure her many times," Silas said. "Many times. Many methods. Each time I approached those eyeballs it was like staring into something operating at a level above Apocalypse rank. I could not touch it. I could not even diagnose it properly. This old man felt completely helpless." He spread his hands. "And then. You cured it like it was a head cold."
"It was more complicated than a head cold," Ren said.
"She didn't tell this old man the details. Before she met you, she mentioned that her friend Lucy had referred her to the best doctor in the Dao Guild, and I scoffed. Which doctor is better than an alchemist? I dismissed it entirely." He leaned forward. "Then she came home. Completely cured. New power she won't tell me about. This old man was shocked."
"The non-disclosure agreement covers the procedure and the outcome."
"She told me nothing. I deduced everything from her appearance." Silas looked supremely pleased with himself. "So I came to investigate in person. And to bring gifts."
Ren looked at Lu Changcheng.
"Sage Stone is the largest potion supplier in the region," Lu Changcheng said, with the tone of someone summarizing a situation they have been sitting in for a while. "He's brought a partnership proposal that would increase guild revenue by approximately fifty percent. I called you here to ask your opinion before anything moves forward."
"Yes!" Silas was already nodding. "I want a research partner, Doctor. A real one. This old man has been working alone for too long."
His eyes had a quality that Ren noted with some concern. Not a hint of something unsettling. A considerable amount.
"Doctor," Silas said, leaning forward, "how well do you know the human body?"
"Well enough that if I claimed to be second, no one could honestly call themselves first."
Silas clapped his hands together. "Such confidence! This old man is impressed!"
Is this old man's head functioning correctly, Ren thought. Are all alchemists just maniacs? Is this a requirement for the license?
"This old man's ambition," Silas continued, "is to save the world."
Lu Changcheng exhaled quietly.
"In this decade alone," Lu Changcheng said, "the number of A-rank and S-rank gate openings has nearly doubled. Last year an Apocalypse-rank gate appeared off the eastern coast, suspected to be a break event from beneath the seafloor."
Ren felt something cold settle in his chest.
Is it already that bad, he thought. Is this world actually heading toward what I think it's heading toward.
"So humanity organized," Silas said. "Quietly. A secret organization, no public record. The top ten Mythical-rank hunters. Every Legendary-rank hunter on the continent. Together."
"It's called Advent of Humanity," Lu Changcheng said. "I'm a member."
"You didn't mention this," Ren said.
"You didn't ask," Lu Changcheng said, which was a reasonable answer and also not satisfying.
"This old man," Silas said, leaning forward with the energy of someone who had been building to this, "is inviting you to join us. Specifically in the research division." He held up one finger. "Human enhancement." Another finger. "Super soldier development." A third. "Monster-derived biological augmentation. Cross-species tissue grafting. Cognitive modification. Mana core restructuring. Full physical reconstruction from baseline." He ran out of fingers and switched hands. "Involuntary stress-testing to determine the upper limits of human survivability. Forced evolution via high-pressure gate exposure. And this old man's personal project—" he paused, "—the complete biological redesign of the human species from first principles."
Ren stared at him.
"And the truly exceptional part," Silas continued, eyes bright, "is that we operate completely outside standard regulatory oversight. Human experiments. Monster experiments. Live tissue research on consenting and, when necessary, non-consenting subjects. No ethical review boards. No forms." He leaned back. "This old man has not filled out a form in eleven years. It is one of the great achievements of my career."
Lu Changcheng was looking at a point on the ceiling that had become very interesting to him.
"How many people have you experimented on?" Ren asked.
"Voluntarily or involuntarily?"
"Either."
Silas waved a hand. "This old man does not keep precise records of the ones that did not survive. It creates a depressing atmosphere in the laboratory. The successful ones are catalogued and thriving."
"The successful ones."
"The success rate has improved significantly. We are above forty percent now."
"Forty percent," Ren said.
"Forty-three, as of last month." Silas looked genuinely proud. "When this old man started it was closer to eight. Progress is progress."
This man, Ren thought, has killed more people than most war criminals. He is describing this in a Guildmaster's office while smiling. He has a forty-three percent survival rate and considers this an achievement.
"The failures," Silas said, "were not wasted. All data was documented. Every failure advances the research. This old man views each one as a contribution to humanity's survival."
"A contribution," Ren said.
"Yes." He clasped his hands. "Which is why I came to you, Doctor. Your success rate, from what I have deduced from my daughter's case alone, is significantly higher than forty-three percent. You cured something I could not classify. You gave her abilities. She is alive and appears happier than she has been in years." He leaned forward. "What is your methodology?"
"I'm a doctor," Ren said. "I help people."
"Yes, yes, but the specific mechanism—"
"I help people," Ren said again.
Silas studied him.
"You're not going to tell this old man."
"I'll think about the offer."
"But favorably?"
"I'll think about it."
Silas looked at Lu Changcheng. Lu Changcheng gave him nothing.
"Fine, fine." Silas settled back. "Consider this: the organization has resources no individual guild can match. Specimens that would otherwise be inaccessible. Materials. Gate intelligence two months ahead of public knowledge. And the research environment is one where a man of your abilities can work without restraint. No one will ask questions. No one will file a complaint. You can pursue any hypothesis to its conclusion, however extreme, however many subjects it requires."
He spread his arms wide.
"Isn't that wonderful?"
Ren looked at Lu Changcheng.
Lu Changcheng gave him the smallest possible shrug, the shrug of a man with nothing to add.
What the fuck, Ren thought. This man has a forty-three percent survival rate and calls it progress. He is inviting me to join a secret organization that operates above every law that exists. He is smiling. Brother Lu is sitting there doing nothing.
Are all alchemists like this. Do they test for this during licensing.
"I'll need to think about it," Ren said.
Silas beamed. "Of course! This old man is very patient!"
He stood, grabbed both of Ren's hands, and shook them with vigor. "Staying in Qintara for two weeks. Find me when you decide!"
He swept out.
The office was quiet.
"Forty-three percent," Ren said.
"Yes," Lu Changcheng said.
"He thinks that's good."
"He does."
"And you're in this organization."
Lu Changcheng picked up his tea. "Strategic committee. Not the research division."
"Smart," Ren said.
"I have my moments," Lu Changcheng said.