Part 40: The End of the Beginning

I’ve never thought this was a bad place before, but now I’m not so sure. Jess had her advisement meeting earlier, I think she was the last of us who had to go. But while we were talking about it, things got… weird.

Video- “Isolde’s Lesson”

Watch the Video

Welcome back. That took a while.
So, so? What did you talk about?
I said I wanted to make medicine, and then I got bombarded with questions.
“What kind of medicine? Medical? Bombs? Or…” I don’t even remember…
Must have been hard. I’ll pour you some tea.
It’s your own fault for not planning properly. It is your future, after all.
Oh Vayne, yours was pretty fast. What did you say?
I said I wanted to be an alchemist… The teacher was a little shocked.
Well, of course he was…
Yeah but… I only recently wanted to become an alchemist…
???: That is your desire…
What?
???: No one wished for it. Your very own desire…
Huh, what? Who?
???: And if you do, you must… Yes… Enough power…
What are you saying…?

I guess I fell asleep for a second or something, must have been working too hard.



What!? …Oh.
You were spacing out again. Lost in thought?
Um, no…
You just went quiet all of a sudden. I thought you fell asleep or something.
What… was that?

That was when we were interrupted by the Principal entering our workshop.



Oh my, Bernard.
What do you want, Supreme Ruler?
*gasp * Did Flay do something again?
No, no. I was asked to deliver a message from Ms. Isolde.
Only she would use the principal as a messenger.
It’s not often you see a principal who would accept to do that, either…
Ms. Isolde… What’s the message?
To meet at the Underground Mana Ruins to learn about true alchemy, she says.
What…? Alchemy…?
What will we do?
It’s a special invitation. Let’s see what it’s about.
It’s not like we have anything better to do…
Hmph… What is she thinking?
Well, I’ve relayed the message.



We headed down to the depths of the Mana Ruins, where strange crystals floated above an endless, inky darkness…



It’s beneath us, right? Let’s go.

Professor Feinne’s Alchemy 300: The Bottom Center
Okay so before you come to this place take everyone who you can afford and set their task sharing to Gather here. This is the only way you can get Rainbow Feathers until right before the last chapter, and we’ll want some of those very soon. This place is pretty straightforward for the most part. There’s a switch that toggles the water on and off when you reach a point where it seems like you can’t progress, though since it’ll probably be late at that point I suggest you linger and fish before you drain the water. The fishing here includes Sharkgill and King and Queen Tuna, all of which are very useful.

Eventally, we reached an area even more packed with crystals than the earlier parts. And that’s when we discovered what exactly they were.

Video- “Empire of Crystal”

Learn the Truth

What is this…? It feels like there’s overflowing power…
So many crystals… It’s so pretty.
Something is inside the crystal…
Is this… a Mana!?
What? You’re right! There’s a Mana inside…
This one, too… Could they be in all the crystals?
But…why?

It turned out this was what Ms. Isolde had wanted us to see.



Oh, teacher.
We came here for you!
What is it that you wanted to talk to use about, all the way down here?
Do you children know… What Mana are?
That’s a dumb question…
Mana are Mana…
They’re our friends. They help us with alchemy…
Mana are beings who govern the various phenomena of this world.
Wind, fire, earth, water, darkness & light, the moon & stars, emotions & heart.
There are many kinds, but they’re all alike. In other words, pure power.
Pure power…
The Mana we see are just the physical forms. Within lies a vortex of power.
I heard the same story from my grandfather once.

And then she explained exactly why these Mana were here…



The power of Mana… Is that possible?
Many Mana were hunted in the name of research… Tens of thousands…
Trapped, drugged, dissected alive…
Ahh! Stop it!
I’ve seen worse in B-rated horror movies.
Eventually, they succeeded in extracting the power…
But it was too much for mere humans to manage.
Free of its vessel, the power surged, instantly burning everything to ash.
Nothing remained. Not even a single tree, or a living human.
Mana contain that much power?
The alchemists cancelled all experiments and froze the Mana specimens.
They denied such an event ever happened, and erased it from all the records.
How horrible… So all of these crystals are from the experiment?
What a sad story…
That is an alchemist… That is what you want to become…
It’s not a bad idea to think about it one more time, knowing this.
……
Can you hear it? The sorrowful voices of the Mana who sleep here…
What?

Ms. Isolde walked away, leaving us to think things over.



I’m sorry… Please let me think about this alone for a while.
I must learn more about this… alchemy. Hahaha!
I still don’t understand. Why did that lady tell us that story?
There’s a Mana in each and every crystal here…
…Don’t worry about it so much. It all happened in the past.
You guys went through a lot, huh? I’m sorry…
Ar…
…A painful story, but my conviction toward becoming an alchemist is strong…

I went off on my own for a bit, and nearby found a crystal larger than any of the others.

Video- “Zweis Monde”

Face the True Power of Mana

Looks like it couldn’t even retain its original form.
…The story she told earlier. Did you know about it?
Theofratus told me about it.
Do Mana carry a grudge against people? Do you ever…
I don’t know what others think. But, I have no reason to hate you.
…Thanks.
There’s no need for you to thank me… Say, Vayne.
What?
Even if Mana hate people, it has nothing to do with me. Rather, you…

Our conversation was interrupted by a strange voice…



Huh?
What’s wrong?
A voice… Where did it come from?
I didn’t hear anything…
???: Let me… of here… human… alchemist…
Out of here…? From this crystal? You’re the one talking.
Vayne! Don’t go!
???: …Get out… Revenge… Please… you, too…

I don’t really remember what happened next.





By the time I came to the crystal was glowing.



Urg… huh?
What is this?
The Mana that was trapped… I believe.
This is bad. Watch out for the power surge…
???: Out… Revenge… Alchemists… Die…!
It looks serious…
There’s no time to run. Eat my righteous justice!
But… it’s a Mana. Long ago, alchemists…
It’s too late to think rationally! Here it comes!
Yeah… but…

We had no choice but to defend ourselves from the Mana that broke free.



Boss Battle: Zweis Monde
And here we are back with real bosses again. Zweis Monde has two ‘forms’, depending on how it’s turned. One is heavily resistant to physical attacks and the other heavily resistant to magic. This is really a perfect place to use Pamela’s Seeker, because its properties will only annoy you. So, Zweis Monde’s most devastating tactic revolves around time cards, both its and yours. It will use a skill called Piercing Needle that creates a few, and then use a skill called Command Placer that rewrites ALL time effects with a brutal attack called Riot Storm that damages both HP and SP. It will periodically switch from one form to the other, changing its attacks around a bit and of course switching resistance if you haven’t used Seeker. It’s also got some other Time Effects like Heaven’s Gate, a few powerful normal attacks, and a skill that shuffles your party around just to be a dick. When you do eventually bring it down, you get the recipe for the Jade Tablet, which is a component of a lot of cool things.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if we did the right thing.

Video- “The End of the Beginning”

Things Get Worse

At least there wasn’t an explosion…
That was scary! It feels like I lost 10 years off my afterlife…
That Mana was abused by alchemists… And then we…
I think it’s best not to think about it too much.
Okay…
But, why was it able to come out of the crystal?
Maybe there was a crack or something.
It can’t be that simple…
Either way, we should get out of here and let the teachers figure it out.
You’re right. Wait, where the hell did Ms. Isolde go?
The voice I heard… Was it that Mana’s? I’m sorry.

Are we any better than those alchemists from the past…?





When we got back and told the principal, he was really surprised.
A Mana had never escaped before. He said he would investigate immediately…
That voice that I heard… If it really was the Mana’s…
And… Why did Ms. Isolde call us out there to begin with?