I didn't head for the dorms. My feet moved with a "Quality Control" precision I had honed back in the labs of my previous life. If the structural integrity of the Academy was failing due to a biological agent, every second wasted was a step toward a total containment breach.
I slipped into the servant's stairwell, heading for the lowest levels of the Old Library. The air grew damp, smelling of ancient paper and something sharp—like vinegar mixed with ozone.
[SYSTEM STATUS: REAL-TIME OVERLAY]
User ID: 230531218-Cyrus (Status: Authorized)
Environmental Alert: Pathogen Concentration at 150 ppm.
Attribute Current Value Growth
Level 14 +1. (Field Experience)
Mana (MP) 890/920 Usage: 5/min (Active Masking)
Integrity Index 94% Alert: Structural Decay Detected
New Skill [Data Analytics: Anomaly Detection] Passively
reached the sub-basement. The stone walls were weeping a viscous, black slime. It wasn't just mold; it was pulsing.
[Analysis Result]
Identity: Aetheris Vorax (Mana-Eating Pathogen).
Behavior: Consumes magical constructs to fuel cellular division.
Vulnerability: Non-magical pH shifts (pH < 2.0 or pH > 12.0).
A panicked shout echoed from the end of the hall. A lone night-watchman was frantically firing "Light Bolts" at the slime. To my horror, every time a bolt hit the mass, the slime glowed brighter and doubled in size. The man was literally feeding the monster.
"Stop!" I yelled, but it was too late. The slime surged, pinning the guard's arm to the wall. His magic was being drained so fast he couldn't even scream.
"Help... me..." he gasped.
I looked at my hands. I couldn't use magic; it would just be dessert for the pathogen. I needed a chemical intervention. I reached into the trunk my father had given me—the "Tools for Chemistry."
I pulled out a flask of concentrated H_2SO_4 (Sulfuric Acid) and a stabilized Anionic Surfactant.
The Chemical Solution
"Cyrus? What are you—"
A voice behind me made my heart stop. Elara. She had followed me down. She stood at the edge of the slime's reach, her silver hair shimmering in the dark. "That's a void-growth! Magic only makes it stronger! We have to call the High Proctors!"
"They'll be too late," I said, my voice cold and focused. "And their 'Holy Fire' will just turn this basement into a nursery for that thing."
I didn't look back. I began to move. I wasn't casting a spell; I was performing a Titration of Destruction.
I threw the surfactant first. It was a specialized "soap" designed to break down the lipid membranes of magical organisms. The slime hissed as its outer protective layer began to dissolve, exposing its sensitive mana-core.
"Now for the neutralization," I muttered.
I poured the Sulfuric Acid into a spray-vial and infused it with a tiny, non-magical vibration using [Kinetic Thermodynamics]. I aimed for the base of the growth—the "Root Node."
The reaction was violent. In chemistry, extreme pH shifts cause protein denaturation. Since the pathogen was 90% "Mana-Protein," the acid didn't just burn it; it unfolded its very existence.
[NOTIFICATION]
Reaction Successful: Exothermic Neutralization.
Damage Dealt: 4,500 (True Damage - Non-Magical).
The black slime shriveled into a dry, grey ash. The guard fell to the floor, panting, his arm scorched but safe. The "beating" heart of the basement silenced instantly.
[POST-COMBAT DATA SYNC]
Exp Gained: 1,200
Level Up: 14 \rightarrow 15
Intelligence: +1 (Efficiency confirmed)
I stood there in the silence, the smell of sulfur heavy in the air. I slowly recapped my vials and tucked them back into my kit.
"You didn't use a single drop of mana," Elara whispered. She was standing right behind me now, her amethyst eyes wide with a mixture of terror and fascination. "You just... destroyed a Grade-A threat with... water and vinegar?"
"Acid, actually," I corrected, finally turning to face her. "And some very expensive soap."
She stepped closer, the purple glow of her [Truth Seeker] trait flaring so brightly it hurt to look at. "No more lies, Cyrus. No 'friendship' with water. Who are you? No child knows how to deconstruct a void-pathogen. And your family... the Veridians... they aren't just 'herbalists,' are they?"
I looked at the guard, who was unconscious. I looked at the Princess. Then, I looked at the System screen floating in my peripheral vision.
[URGENT QUEST: The Seal's Secret]
Description: The pathogen wasn't a leak. It was a Probe.
New Discovery: Your family's estate is the only thing keeping the "Main Body" of this threat contained.
Warning: Princess Elara is now a 'Variable'.
"My family," I said, my voice dropping to the gravelly tone I had inherited from my father, "are the people who keep you safe enough to ask stupid questions, Princess. If you want the truth, come with me. But once you see the 'Molecular Reality' of this world, you can never go back to believing in fairy tales."