Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

When Sorin and friends returned to the Adventurers Rest, they found a sign on the door stating that Innkeeper Madeline would be taking a brief holiday. The kitchen would be closed, but existing patrons were welcome to keep their rooms free of charge.

"Typical behavior for a meddlesome witch," said Gareth. "But very suspicious given what just happened. Did she set us up to cause some chaos?"

"I can't find anything pointing to her," said Lawrence, zipping from room to room. "No personal items, not even stray hairs. It's the cleanest getaway I've had the pleasure to witness."

Sorin sighed in disappointment. "Why didn't I think to poison her? I usually spread a light poison on new acquaintances as a habit. My instincts aren't pointing me in any specific direction, either. What about you, Astley?" They'd gone to the museum to fetch the Myth Binder shortly after their altercation. Though she'd been reluctant to leave, the historical items they mentioned seeing tipped the scales. The danger posed by a potentially overprotective demigod didn't seem to register.

"I can't find anything," said Astley, retrieving her dousing pendant and taking out a deck of divination cards. This would be her fifth divination of the afternoon. As before, it ended in failure. "I've tried dousing, cards, tea leaves, the traditional karmic interconnection methods, and an old-fashioned sacrifice to Lord Hope. Whoever this witch is, she left nothing to chance."

Fenrig had not joined in the investigation. He'd simply gathered his things and waited at the table—presumably for them to fail. "An honored Matron would never do anything to harm us," he said. "She only left because she's been misunderstood. She'll be back. Of that, I am certain."

An hour later, Lorimer also returned, reeking of fire and sewage. "Did you find anything?" asked Sorin.

"Ree, ree, ree," said the rat, shaking his head. His task had been the most time-consuming and involved recruiting the city's rats to perform a sweeping search.

In the end, the innkeeper was simply gone. What's more, no one in the city seemed to find this behavior strange or unusual. When they asked about the witch's habits and typical behavior, those who recognized her described her comings and goings as inconsistent and sporadic. Her inn might be open for three seasons, one year, only to shut down for years at a time.

An inn was nothing without its innkeeper, so their group was unanimous in moving to a crowded inn called the Fishing Hook. Like the Adventurers Rest, it served imported seafood prepared by a certified three-star chef. There were over twenty-three-star adventurers staying there, and half of them rented their rooms by the year.

Sorin cautioned his companions about potential complications from their altercation with the Governor's children before heading out to see the city's most prominent physicians. There were five in total; two were traditionalist life mages who wanted nothing to do with him, but three physicians were open to cooperation. One even lent a laboratory and treatment room to Sorin and promised to send any patients he couldn't treat his way.

Sorin barely had time to organize the poisonous ingredients he'd gathered in the wilderness before customers came knocking. Most were rich and influential customers looking for Meridian Opening, Bone Unsealing, and Gate Opening treatments.

He spent the next three days unlocking the Mildred Outpost's potential and building up considerable influence in the process. These activities were lucrative, but Sorin prioritized knowledge and experience. If his customers could find appropriately graded poisonous or alchemical ingredients he didn't already possess, he would waive any fees for treatment.

Like this, the most influential people in the city became his eyes and ears. Resources that would have taken weeks to find naturally made their way into his Apothecary Medallion. This included highly dangerous items restricted by the outpost. With his new connections, Sorin had no issue obtaining the required permits.

It was on the fourth day that Sorin finally got his first referral. The patient in question was less than thirty years old but appeared to be closer to 90. "We've tried the Helsing Rejuvenation Method, the Cocoon Nurturing Method, and have even tried purging his body using Three-Veined Nightshade Leaf, Cloud-Borne Rotting Root, and Steel Light Adder Venom," explained Physician Mathews, whose clinic Sorin was operating out of.

"I realize these treatments are nothing impressive, but it's what we came up with after speaking with our sister hospitals in Delphi and Olympia. Unfortunately, all this did was worsen the patient's condition. I had Physician Olivander and Physician Albus double-check the diagnosis, but all the symptoms checked out. This is, without a doubt, Acquired Year-Encroachment Syndrome. If we don't do anything, he'll die within the month."

Sorin took his time to review the patient's file before conducting his own inspection. He held a mana lamp to the patient's eyes and used his spiritual strength to evaluate his physical response times. Ocular degeneration is consistent with advanced age. Cataracts have begun forming, and anomalous cell generation is dangerously elevated.

"Mr. Corning, was it?" said Sorin, running his fingers down the man's face. Skin is excessively supple. Facial bones are light and pitted, consistent with symptoms of advanced age. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a cultivation instructor," the 'old man' answered. "I was lucky to break through to the Flesh-Sanctification Realm thanks to my family's accumulated wealth but reached the limits of my talent shortly thereafter. I'd always wanted to be an educator, and my mother managed to convince my father to fund the small but successful school I'm currently teaching at."

"Educators are sorely needed in today's society," said Sorin, moving to the man's surprisingly young-looking hands. "Clans and organizations hoard their knowledge tightly; very few are willing to educate members of the general public like you do." He turned to Physician Mathews. "Feel his finger joints. What do you notice?"

Physician Mathews frowned but inspected the joint as he was told. "Interesting. There's no cartilage degeneration. Bone degeneration is consistent with other parts of his body, but cartilage degeneration isn't."

"It's the same for his kneecaps, elbows, and toe joints," Sorin confirmed with a brief scan. "I, therefore, doubt the original diagnosis. Do you have his blood serum test results? I didn't spot them in the original report."

"They were delayed at the Alchemists Guild," said Physician Mathews. "Let me fetch them."

A short while later, he returned with the requested tests. Sorin reviewed the data and sent it alongside his model of the patient's anatomy into the mindscape that was Ophiuchan Simulation. After linking the patient's model with the tens of thousands of models stored in the mindscape, he ran multiple tests and simulations that included potentially lethal poisons, thereby narrowing down the symptoms without having to physically administer any treatments.

"There are three possible explanations for Mr. Corning's condition," Sorin explained to Physician Mathews. "Since his symptoms are asymmetric, the explanation must also be asymmetric. Acquired Year-Encroachment Syndrome is not possible—unless, of course, it's concurrent with another condition."

Sorin sent a golden needle laced with a complex mix of poisons into the man's hand and observed the patient's reaction. Due to the imperfections in Ophiuchan Simulation, it wasn't possible to perform certain tests. Simulations had to be supplemented with physical experiments. "Bone-Liquifying Vascular Degeneration Disease is a possible explanation, but the needle I just injected him with would have led to discoloration. We can, therefore, eliminate this as a possibility."

He then plucked a hair off the man's head and flicked a drop of his blood onto it. It hissed and sizzled until nothing was left. "This solvent can dissolve even bones; where it differs is that it's reactive with White Phosphorus and emits a green smoke. Even lower grades of White Phosphorus Poisoning can lead to symptoms consistent with Mr. Corning's. This test produced gray smoke, so we can also eliminate this possibility."

He then turned to Mr. Corning. "My apologies, but I'll need to do something intrusive. Rest assured that with two three-star physicians present, you won't feel any pain, and there will be no scarring. It's just that the procedure itself might be shocking."

"I am prepared," said Mr. Corning.

"Physician Mathews, please focus your efforts on blood supplementation for the time being," said Sorin. "Applying general anesthetics. Disabling pain-related nervous functions." Three dozen needles plunged deep into the man's bones, and one needle even inserted itself into the man's Gate of Initiation, which was mostly closed off. "I'll now be performing open heart surgery. Please assume control of the patient's blood flow."

"Heart surgery?!" exclaimed Physician Mathews. "This isn't a sterile environment. We can't do this!"

"No need to worry," said Sorin. "My aura has already sterilized the environment and warded it against all forms of corruption."

Sorin had Nemesis transform into surgical gloves and a scalpel, which he used to cut into the patient's rib cage. Physician Mathews was shocked but competent—he immediately assumed control over the man's circulation system and even provided skeletal support to allow the patient to remain seated during the procedure.

This normally wasn't how things were done, but due to the way organs shifted, Sorin preferred the seated position. Though doing so held the risk of causing unnecessary damage, Sorin angled his scalpel and carefully cut through rune joints in the man's forged bones, making sure to preserve the integrity of the runes as he revealed a small opening leading straight to the heart.

Sorin scanned the man's heart and spotted what he was looking for a barely noticeable black dot adhered to his ventricular wall. Coincidentally, this portion of flesh was sanctified, making the subsequent procedure tricky.

He had Nemesis form a tiny, almost microscopic blade, which he then used to sever the thousands of tiny connections the black dot had established with the patient's sanctified flesh. The process took the better part of an hour, but in the end, Sorin was able to pull out the black dot and present it to Physician Mathews.

"Oh!" said Physician Mathews. "This is mana parasite. It's not commonly seen in this region, but given Mr. Corning's occupation, it makes sense."

"What's a mana parasite?" asked Mr. Corning. "And are you two just going to leave my insides stretched open while you casually talk? Isn't that dangerous?" He was currently staring at his unbeating heart with horrified fascination.

"Let's stitch him up," said Sorin. He waved over a ball of three-star Sanctified Spider Thread and used Nemesis as a sewing needle to close up the largest wounds. Physician Mathews followed behind him with Life Mana to heal over what he could and kick-start the healing process when he couldn't.

In the end, the only evidence that they'd performed open heart surgery on the man was a cross-shaped stitch, which would naturally dissolve and nurture the surrounding tissues over the next three days.

"Mr. Corning, you'll need to stop aiding your students in circulating their mana," said Sorin, wiping the man's blood off his hands. "It's an outdated method that's been proven to be detrimental to students. What's more, it's also detrimental to you as the instructor."

"I don't understand," said Mr. Corning, whose features were currently reverting to that of a man in his thirties. "That's how my father did it and how his father before him did it."

Sorin chuckled. "Direct familial nurturing isn't a problem, because your mana and blood are compatible. But when you start mixing different sorts of mana and blood, various bad situations can arise.

"A mana parasite is an extreme example. It's less a disease but a confluence of incompatible mana that escapes the body's control and starts uncontrollably siphoning away mana and life force from its host. It's a very rare condition, which was why Physician Mathews couldn't diagnose it properly. There are only three thousand documented cases, and these cases are all upwards of fifty years old. This is because the Medical Association took great pains to educate the clans and organizations about the risks of this practice. Unfortunately, smaller families fell through the cracks, leading to today's situation."

"So, I need to give up on being an instructor?" asked Mr. Corning nervously.

"Not at all, Mr. Corning," assured Physician Mathews. "Just don't use conjoined mana circulation methods. Instead, try to stimulate the students using non-biological means like Mana Circulation Arrays and alchemical supplements."

Mr. Corning let out a sigh of relief. "I'm indebted to you both. About the bill…"

"It's the same as always," said Sorin. "Find me a three-star plant I don't currently have. Mutated specimens are preferred. You'll find a description of specimens I'm currently looking for in the Alchemists Guild."

"I'll have it delivered this afternoon," said Mr. Corning before seeing himself out. With his family's wealth, providing such a plant would pose no problem.

Sorin chatted a bit with Physician Mathews before cleaning up the treatment room. Though everything was sterile, most patients were averse to seeing blood. It also wouldn't do to return the treatment room to Physician Mathews in a filthy state.

What followed was a lull in treatments. Sorin took advantage of the lull to experiment with poisons and potential high-level combinations. All five of his poisons had been upgraded to the hundred-poison level, but it had become clear now that to advance his cultivation further, many weaker poisons would be insufficient. He needed a stronger poison to sanctify his flesh.

Thanks to the addition of new poison specimens, his experiments were productive. Unfortunately, he was forced to stop when, on the sixth day of his stay in Mildred, no less than ten Flesh-Sanctification cultivators arrived at Physician Mathews's clinic. He forcefully halted his experiments and walked out to greet them.

The group was made up of high-ranking city guardsmen. One of them was an old swordsman who had been keeping watch over the governor's children.

"What can I help you with, Vice-Commander Penrose?" said Physician Mathews as he entered the reception. "And would you mind pulling back your auras a little? You're making my patients uncomfortable."

Vice-Commander Penrose nodded to the other soldiers, and they immediately retracted their bloodthirsty auras. "Sorin Abberjay Kepler, the Governor has instructed us to bring you to his residence."

Sorin raised an eyebrow. "May I know the reason for this request?" Strictly speaking, as a God Seed, the governor had no authority over him unless specifically authorized by the Olympian Government."

Vice-Commander Penrose looked around the room before using his aura to isolate Sorin from the rest of the clinic, including Physician Mathews. This sort of privacy screen was a crude but common use of auras. Sorin did nothing to resist it.

"Six days ago, your group arrived in the city and had an altercation with Young Master Fidel and Young Mistress Aeris," Vice-Commander Penrose explained. "This on its own isn't a concern. I clearly explained the situation to the Governor, and he made sure to properly scold his children." A clear lie, based on his pulse, but Sorin didn't nitpick. "The issue comes after. After your poison's paralytic effects disappeared, Young Mistress Aeris was confined to her rooms for her rude behavior. The next day, she fell ill. At first, we thought it was because of the stressful encounter, but her symptoms grew progressively worse. We sought out Physician Olivander for treatment, but her condition continued to degenerate. Today, she can't even get out of bed."

Sorin nodded. "So, you're accusing me of poisoning her."

Vice-Commander Penrose did not deny this. "We did some digging and discovered that you're considered one of the best physicians in Delphi if not all of Pandora. Given your altercation with Mrs. Aeris and the political implications of her sudden illness, the Governor feels that it would be best if you could pay his daughter a visit and ensure that the strong neurotoxins you injected her with didn't have any unexpected side effects."

"I'll come," agreed Sorin. "But not before I inform my companions."

"There will be no need for this," said Vice-Commander Penrose. "We already sent out men to round up your companions and bring them to the Governor's Manor for a friendly conversation."

Sorin's eyes narrowed. It was clear from how seriously they were treating this that this wasn't a simple illness. "Will we be flying or walking?"

"A flying transport will arrive in exactly thirty seconds," said Vice-Commander Penrose. "It would be best if we jump in as soon as it arrives." The situation was clearly much more serious than the Vice-Commander was making it out to be.

Sorin shattered the Vice-Commander's privacy screen and spoke to Physician Mathews. "Thank you ever so much for the use of your clinic. I would have liked to stay longer, but I must accompany the Vice-Commander for important business."

"I'll send a message to Delphi's Medical Association and let them know about the case you just solved," said Physician Mathews. "Perhaps another round of education on co-joined mana circulation is warranted." It was a veiled threat to Vice-Commander Penrose. If anything happened to Sorin, the Medical Association would know where to look.

For good measure, Sorin sent a message to Elder Marik, who should have arrived in Olympia by now, and Elder Nolan, his contact in Delphi. He also sent a message to Haley York, his contact at the Hero Association.

"The transport has arrived," said Vice-Commander Penrose as winds buffeted the clinic from above. "Let's not delay."