kscans

Chapter 8 - The Socially Awkward Awakened Person

'Alchemy.'

It was a 'discipline' with the goal of transforming imperfect metals into the perfect metal: gold.

In modern times, however, it had become a 'former discipline,' something heard of only in occult magazines, shady cults, and fantasy stories. Of course, the study of alchemy contributed to the development of physics and chemistry, but alchemists themselves were generally treated as either fairy tale characters or con artists.

What a strange irony it was that it was now recognized as something that could 'actually be used.'

From a cardboard box in the corner of my room, I took out a flask.

When one thinks of alchemy, after 'transmutation of gold' and the 'Philosopher's Stone,' there's another famous thing... or rather, 'being.'

'Homunculus.'

An 'artificial human' created by placing several types of herbs and male semen into a flask, sealing it, and leaving it for forty days.

This one was something I 'intentionally made using the wrong procedure.'

Inside the flask I held, there was no little person, but a floating white mist.

Semen is required because the information of the soul is necessary. This allows the Homunculus to possess a certain level of knowledge and intelligence from the start, as well as a pseudo-soul.

So, what would happen if I infused it with 'just mana' instead of semen?

Furthermore, the temperature was just room temperature, not the ideal condition.

The result was this existence, which possessed neither personality nor knowledge... not even a soul. Just as I'd planned.

As for how I have such knowledge, it was written in the book that was fixed to the back of my waist when I wore my 'Arcane Gear.'

Whether formed by the influence of my unique ability, that book contains the fundamentals of alchemy.

Thinking about it calmly, it's a deeply mysterious book. Who wrote it, and how?

But if I'm going down that road, the 'magic' that exists as a skill is also extremely strange.

'Magic.'

This ability, sometimes possessed by Awakened Persons, comes with knowledge. They say that the moment they Awaken, information about magic they never knew before suddenly enters their minds.

According to a post online, one person described it as, 'It felt like I connected to somewhere for a moment, and a massive PDF file was slammed into my brain.'

While I didn't feel much of anything strange when I Awakened, it seems that Awakened who gained magic experienced strong nausea and fatigue.

There are rumors that they might have 'connected to the Akashic Records' or something, but the details are unknown. For now, they use it because they can. In fact, most Awakened feel that using their skills is as natural as 'of course I can use it.'

Various scholars question whether this is dangerous, but for an Awakened Person, it feels as natural as moving their own limbs... I myself have no aversion to using my skills, as long as it doesn't cause trouble for others.

Anyway, it seems that in my case, the knowledge of 'Alchemy' was output as part of my 'Arcane Gear,' like an accessory to my unique ability, rather than being downloaded into my brain.

However, compared to someone who has 'Alchemy' as a skill, the amount and precision of my knowledge are worlds apart.

They already have the necessary knowledge in their heads and can draw a transmutation circle instantly with just a piece of chalk. I, on the other hand, have to repeatedly stare at my book, rely on a ruler and compass to draw, and then nearly cry and redraw it because of a millimeter-long error.

...I once saw a video online of someone who had created their own Homunculus.

It was footage of a tiny girl in a dress, singing and dancing inside a flask.

It immediately blew up in a storm of controversy, with people calling it 'a human rights violation' and 'an evil act of creating life against nature and ethics.' The video was taken down within a few days, but it was so shocking that it's still a topic of discussion on the internet today.

Could I create a Homunculus as intricate as that?

...To put it simply, yes, I could. If I were to just create it as a beautiful doll, it would be within the scope of the basics. In fact, if I used the power of my 'Nucleus,' it should have the precision equivalent to a skill user's.

But I won't. Or rather, I can't, emotionally.

Creating a Homunculus isn't illegal, technically. It became a topic of discussion as to whether it violated laws related to cloning, but the laws concerning skills themselves are hardly established. On top of that, Homunculus technology and cloning technology are completely different, so it's unclear to what extent the law should apply.

But I don't think that just because it's not against the law, anything is permissible. I couldn't stomach the idea of creating and consuming a life.

Which brings me to this imperfect Homunculus-like thing. It's not a life, just a kind of AI, mana with a slight tinge of color.

...I'm sounding a bit like a mad scientist myself.

And someone who doesn't know about alchemy or magic would probably say, 'What's the difference?!'

It's different, I swear. This really isn't a living being. It's like something an amateur desperately cobbled together by writing some code.

But I digress.

I made this for one reason and one reason only: dungeon exploration.

I placed a kettle I had bought beforehand onto a transmutation circle drawn on a piece of copy paper. Then, I poured a ton of mana into it.

As I did, I was cheating by clutching a memo in one hand, on which I had transcribed notes from my 'Arcane Gear' book. Activating alchemy requires the 'formula' to be in the user's mind, but there's no way I could memorize something like this.

After a red glow, the shape of the kettle changed. The spout disappeared, and the opening at the top widened.

I confirmed that the flask could fit inside, padded it with cotton and an oven mitt I bought at the 100-yen store, and...

Finally, I attached a marble to the kettle using alchemy, and it was complete.

This was my 'secret weapon' for if I couldn't form a party with anyone. Now that I had teamed up with Rinzaki-san, it seemed unnecessary, but I wanted to be extra careful.

As for its specific use, well, that will come in due time. For now, I was satisfied with the 'vessel' I had created from the kettle.

...Thinking about it again, alchemy is really convenient.

It can't do flashy things on the spot like other magic, but it's a skill that goes head-to-head with modern industrial technology.

By the way, the person who made that Homunculus I thought of earlier is in police custody.

The charge was 'selling gold ingots made with alchemy on the internet.'

There are other cases of Awakened who can use alchemy getting arrested for crimes like 'creating artificial diamonds and selling them door-to-door.'

What's wild is that it doesn't seem to be some government conspiracy; they're genuinely committing these crimes...

The Dungeon Law prohibits the sale of items created with production-type skills for profit, and creating precious metals or gems is also outlawed. I need to be careful not to accidentally get caught up in that myself.

I thought about such things as I put the kettle and flask into my bag for adventuring activities.

...If I could make and sell rare metals with alchemy, I'd be a multimillionaire in no time. No, wait, other alchemists would make them too, so the price would probably crash immediately.

*

The time of trial is upon me.

The final bell has tolled, and my surroundings have become a living hell.

A sense of alienation and anxiety, as if I've been cast out alone into a wasteland. And the fear of when an irresistible hardship will strike.

A demonic space where one must not make enemies, and where allies are nowhere to be found.

That is──the classroom during break time.

...I know. I know what I have to do.

I can't be passive. I need to be the one to talk to others. Those who do not act are rarely given anything.

But I don't know what to talk about.

My conversation deck consists of things like games and anime. If someone thought, 'I'm not interested,' or 'That's creepy,' it would be all over.

In middle school, I used to get excited talking about that stuff with my friends during breaks. But they're not here anymore. They've gone far away. Specifically, out of the prefecture and out of the country.

'Why not just talk to the otaku-ish classmates?' you ask? Don't lump all otaku together. There are Gundam otaku and hard-core Jump fans, you know.

On top of that, I'm a casual fan. I only know a shallow and narrow range of things. If the other person is the type to proselytize, it's not so bad, but if they're the exclusionary type, I'll seriously run out of people to talk to...!

As a result, here I am, fiddling with my phone during breaks, giving off a 'please don't talk to me' aura.

'But you want people to talk to you, don't you?' you might say. Being seen as a lonely loner is, well, embarrassing...

Agh. Rinzaki-san is in the next class. Maybe I can find a way to meet her during lunch... no, I can't.

If I had the vitality to go see a girl in another class, I wouldn't be a loner in the first place.

But, but when it's after school...!

"Hey, Kyou-chan! How're ya doing!?"

"!?"

Someone suddenly clapped me on the shoulder, and I jumped in surprise.

Wait, that voice...

"R-Rinzaki-san?"

"Yes! I am Rinzaki Erina!! Good morning! Or is it good afternoon? Good morfternoon!"

When I turned around, a beautiful blonde girl stood there with a smug look, her arms crossed under her ample chest.

The entire classroom's attention focused on me. As a conspicuous beauty with a loud voice, this self-proclaimed ninja really stands out.

"Uh, um, why are you here...?"

"Greetings are important!!"

...Wait, did she seriously come all the way to the next classroom just to say 'hello'?

Arisugawa-san asked us to go to a dungeon right away today, so we're going to see each other after school anyway. She's quite conscientious.

"Th-Thanks."

"Yup!!!"

After a big nod, she shot her right hand into the air.

"Well then! Let's go to the dungeon together after school!!"

"Yes, I will."

"FIGHT!!"

"...F-Fight-o."

"One-hundred times!!"

You should probably just stick with one.

The overly energetic ninja (self-proclaimed) left the classroom with a smug look. In the hallway were some of her friends, it seemed.

"Yeah! The one with the pretty eyes is Kyou-chan!! He's strong!!"

...I couldn't hear the other girls' voices, but Rinzaki-san's loud voice echoed clearly.

The classroom fell silent for a moment, and the gazes that had been following her returned to me.

Oh, this is scary.

Just as I was thinking of escaping to the bathroom, the person in the seat next to me spoke up.

"Hey, Yagawa-kun. Is that person Rinzaki-san from the next class?"

"Uh, oh, yeah."

Crap, I answered on impulse and missed my chance to get up.

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by several classmates. N-Not good...!

"Whoa, what's your relationship? Is she your girlfriend?"

"No, we're in a party as adventurers..."

"Yagawa-kun, you're an adventurer?! Seriously? That's awesome!"

"It's not that awesome... I think."

"So you can use magic and stuff? What are dungeons like?"

"Well, I can't use magic... and I've only been to a dungeon once, for the exam, so..."

"Wanna try cross-dressing?"

"N-No thanks..."

They talked to me for a while after that, but soon everyone got bored and the area around me quieted down.

...Isn't this the point where not being able to turn this into an opportunity is what makes me a loner?

I thought so, but it was too late. I wish the goddess of opportunity had hair on the back of her head, too. Long hair, down to her feet.

I did try my best to expand the conversation halfway through. But well... Awakened Persons are 'special.' That's a sentiment that's been growing stronger lately.

I was busy studying for exams so I don't know the details, but apparently the culprit in a serial murder case that happened seven months after the 'Day of Awakening' was an Awakened Person, and it caused quite a stir.

The fear of being killed before you even know what happened, thanks to a skill. The envy towards those who can use these supernatural abilities. And the imposed expectation that they should deal with the dangerous dungeons.

The gazes of my non-Awakened classmates, a mixture of various emotions... were, frankly, terrifying.

These 'eyes' of mine sometimes see too much. They perceive people's expressions and the movements of their gazes all too clearly.

If asked whether I'd want to get rid of my [Spirit Eye], I'd have to shake my head. I don't want to lose this 'specialness.'

I might just be scaring myself for no reason, but... still...

I let out a small sigh that no one could hear and looked at my phone.

──After school, my and Rinzaki-san's adventurer debut awaits.

Right now, I couldn't wait for it.