CHAPTER 16: IT WAS FOR RESEARCH

The first to wake up was Garrick. His eyes snapped open, and for a brief moment, he looked utterly lost. Then his expression twisted into confusion, like he’d just remembered something profoundly stupid.

He groaned, rubbing his face. "What... happened?"

"You tried to exorcise the air," I said, deadpan.

Garrick froze. "I... what?"

"You punched the air. A lot. Yelled something about banishing evil spirits."

He stared at me. Then, slowly, he turned to look at his knuckles, which were slightly red. "...Huh."

Before he could process that further, the others started coming back to life.

Julien was next, stretching with a lazy yawn like he’d just woken from the best nap of his life. Then his face twisted. "Ugh. My mouth tastes like tree bark."

"That would be the Mistleaf Essence," I said.

Mira groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. "You drugged us."

I crossed my arms. "You volunteered."

Leo was still slumped in his chair, looking like he regretted every decision that led him to this moment. "I hate this class."

Felix, meanwhile, sat up like a corpse rising from a grave, eyes hollow. "I saw things," he whispered.

Wallace, still staring at his quill, blinked slowly. "I...think I invented a new theorem in my sleep."

Mira shot me a glare. "I swear, if I find out you did this on purpose—"

"Relax," I cut in. "It was just a miscalculation. A slight misjudgment in potency."

Julien snorted. "You made us hallucinogenic cookies, prof."

"Again," I said, "miscalculation."

They didn’t look convinced.

Cassandra was the only one who hadn’t moved much. She was still seated, watching everything unfold. When my eyes met hers, she simply tilted her head slightly. As if she knew something I didn’t.

Creepy.

I clapped my hands together. "Alright, now that you’re all awake, let’s move on to today’s lesson."

Mira scoffed. "You really think we’re just going to pretend that didn’t happen?"

"Yes," I said. "And what did you learn Today?"

Mira pinched the bridge of her nose. "That our professor is an actual psychopath."

Julien smirked. "That I can apparently function while high off my ass."

Leo groaned. "That I need to transfer to another class."

Felix, still haunted, whispered, "That the wind has secrets."

Wallace scribbled something in his notebook. "That theoretical constructs become more flexible when you view them outside the constraints of linear perception."

Everyone turned to him.

Wallace blinked. "What?"

I cleared my throat. "Alright, aside from Wallace potentially achieving enlightenment, what else?"

Garrick flexed his fingers. "Did we learn anything?"

Cassandra, who had remained eerily silent, finally spoke. "That trust is fragile."

The room went quiet.

Cassandra’s words lingered, heavy despite how softly she’d spoken them.

Julien raised an eyebrow. "That’s dramatic, even for you."

Cassandra didn’t respond. She just kept watching me.

I laughed and said,"What Cassandra said was true, you can’t trust anyone if you trust your enemy on the battlefield then the only thing you’ll be trusting is the ground to catch you when you fall."

Mira rolled her eyes. "Great. Another life lesson wrapped in potential poisoning. Fantastic."

Julien leaned back, smirking. "So what now, Prof? More surprise alchemy experiments? Or are we actually getting a normal lesson?"

I shrugged. "Depends. Are any of you still hallucinating?"

Felix flinched. "The walls are still breathing."

"...Anyone else?"

"Nope" a collective murmur came from the rest of the class, though Wallace was still scribbling furiously in his notebook. That was probably fine. Probably.

"Alright then," I said, dusting my hands off. "Since most of you have returned to some semblance of sanity, let’s move on."

Mira crossed her arms. "And by ’move on,’ do you mean another lesson where you nearly kill us?"

I gave her a look. "Don’t be ridiculous. If I wanted to nearly kill you, I’d have added Twilight Lotus Extract instead of morning glories dew."

Leo visibly paled. "That’s not comforting!"

Julien laughed. "Well, I feel fantastic, so I say we roll with it. What’s next?"

I smirked. "Wallace will oversee your basic rune carving again, and if you any of you screw-up Wallace will be eating more of those cookies."

Wallace froze mid-scribble.

"Hold on," he said slowly, turning to look at me with wide eyes. "You’re joking, right?"

I grinned. "Nope."

The classroom erupted into chaos.

Leo nearly fell out of his chair laughing. "Oh, this just keeps getting better."

Julien slapped Wallace on the back. "Congrats, buddy. You’re now the official Rune Guardian and the designated test subject."

Wallace paled. "This is cruel and unusual punishment."

Mira smirked. "Shouldn’t have been so smug last time."

Felix, still looking mildly traumatized, grinned. "You better teach me properly, Wallace. I really don’t want you to have another ’miscalculation’."

Wallace groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I hate all of you."

"Not as much as you’re about to hate rune carving," I said cheerfully.

Cassandra, who had been silent through most of the exchange, finally spoke. "You’re assuming he won’t just eat the cookies on purpose."

The room stilled.

Every pair of eyes snapped toward Wallace.

Wallace blinked. "Wait—what? No! That’s not—I wouldn’t—"

Julien leaned forward, smirking. "Oh? So you’re saying you wouldn’t want another bite of our Professor’s special cookies?"

Mira narrowed her eyes. "I don’t know... he was scribbling like a madman earlier."

Leo grinned. "Wallace, do you like hallucinating?"

Felix gasped dramatically. "Have you ascended?"

Wallace sputtered. "I—I was writing down rune theories! Not—ugh!"

I clapped my hands together. "Alright, enough teasing. Back to work. Wallace, if even one of them messes up their rune, you’re getting another cookie. No exceptions."

Wallace let out a long, defeated sigh. "...I really, really hate this class."

Felix beamed. "Love you too, buddy."

I leaned against the chair and wrote down the Mandrake Flower Cookies recipe and called Mira.

Mira eyed me warily as she walked over. "What now?

"You know how to create potions right? And what about cooking?" I asked to her.

Mira raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I’m a witch, Professor?"

I blinked. "What?"

She gestured at the recipe in my hands. "First, you drug us. Now, you’re handing me a recipe for alchemic nightmare cookies and asking if I can brew potions. What’s next? Do I need to start cackling over a bubbling cauldron?"

Julien smirked. "I’d pay to see that."

Felix grinned. "I bet she’d make a great evil witch. Just imagine—Mistress Mira, the Potion Queen!"

Mira turned to glare at him. "Say that again and I’ll make you my next experiment."

Felix immediately held his hands up in surrender. "Shutting up now."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I’ll pay you for the ingredients, all of those ingredients we bought yesterday, I used them up."

Mira gave me a long, flat look. "You mean to tell me you used up all those expensive ingredients... on drugged cookies?"

I shrugged. "They weren’t supposed to be that potent."

Mira groaned. "Unbelievable."

Julien smirked. "I don’t know, Mira. You might have a future in alchemy. Imagine it—Mira’s Marvelous Morsels: Baked Goods That Defy Reality."

Mira smacked him upside the head. "I swear to the gods, if I hear one more joke about me being a witch—"

Felix, ever the masochist, grinned. "You mean Mistress Mira, the Potion Queen?"

Mira turned to him with a murderous glare, and Felix immediately bolted behind Garrick.

"Coward," Garrick muttered.

I sighed, tapping the recipe against my palm. "Look, I need more supplies. And you’re the only one I trust to actually handle them without blowing something up."

Mira crossed her arms. "And what do I get out of this?"

I smirked. "Aside from the joy of assisting your esteemed professor?"

She raised an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. I’ll double the ingredient cost and throw in ten silver for your trouble."

Mira studied me for a moment before snatching the recipe from my hands. "Deal. But if I do find out you’re making these just to mess with us again—"

I held up my hands. "It’s for actual research."

She narrowed her eyes. "Uh-huh. Sure it is."

Julien leaned back in his chair. "So, are we just gonna pretend our professor isn’t running an underground alchemy operation?"

I smirked. "You make it sound illegal."

Leo groaned. "It feels illegal."

Wallace sighed dramatically. "And yet, here we are."

Cassandra, who had been watching quietly the entire time, finally spoke. "This will come back to haunt you."

I glanced at her, but she had already gone back to idly toying with her quill.

Creepy.

I clapped my hands together. "Alright, enough stalling. Get to work. Wallace, start on rune practice. Mira, go gather the supplies. And the rest of you—"

Julien grinned. "Try not to hallucinate?"

I smirked. "No promises."

The class groaned, but they got to work.

This was shaping up to be a very interesting semester.