Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

The Alchemy Division of the Kepler Medical Institute was a lavishly decorated place that stood in stark contrast to the spartan hospital and the Apothecary Division in the basement of the same building. The reason for this was quite simple: The Alchemy Division was funded and operated by the Alchemists Guild and not the Kepler Clan.

Conversely, keeping a simple and sanitary atmosphere was a necessity in hospitals, something that had bled over into the simple design of the Apothecary Division. It also remained that alchemists were much more prestigious than apothecaries, even though the latter could easily out-earn the former over any length of time.

Alchemists were pretentious and produced a disproportionate number of bullies compared to other occupations. Sorin was therefore not surprised that he was verbally accosted no less than three times on his way to the elevator and several times more on his way to the examination room—likely because he proudly displayed his one-star Apothecary Medallion on his Kepler Clan robes.

He was, therefore, quite surprised to see that it wasn't just apothecaries who were taking the two-star apothecary examination, but alchemists as well. They were boisterous compared to the apothecaries in the room and eyed each examinee who entered the room with suspicion.

Sorin, likely due to his prominent status in the Kepler Clan, attracted several hostile glares within minutes of entering the premises. Ironically, this hostility came from his fellow apothecaries, the majority of whom wore high-quality robes displaying their clan crests.

The Valmira Clan, the Swanson Clan, and the Traeger Clan are all in attendance, thought Sorin, taking note of his stiffest competitors. Mercifully, the Hargrave Clan didn't send anyone. That would have been awkward. The Hargrave Clan was his mother's maternal clan, and her relationship with his father had been quite the scandal and was nearly the cause of an irreconcilable blood feud.

He didn't really recognize the other clan crests in the room, but judging by the way they were looking at him, they were either allied to these more powerful clans or simply jealous of the Kepler Clan's inheritance.

Fortunately, the tense atmosphere didn't remain for very long. Three Flesh-Sanctification cultivators walked in, silencing the examinees. With his strong spiritual senses, Sorin also sensed a handful of Flesh-Sanctification auras flaring up behind a darkened glass window. Each prominent clan or organization was allowed a proctor to prevent any overt foul play.

"Welcome to the second apothecary examination of the year," said the leader of the group of three, a middle-aged apothecary who wore old, worn-out robes, dull eyes, and a sallow face. "You may call me Apothecary Hawthorn. I am a three-star apothecary and the chief examiner for this apothecary examination.

"As usual, the exam will be conducted in three segments: poison analysis, poison concoction, and medical debate. I will administer the poison analysis segment, while my fellow three-star alchemist, Alchemist Warner, will administer the poison concoction segment. That leaves Physician Evans to administer the medical debate segment."

Apothecary Hawthorn is conceited but fair, a voice whispered in Sorin's ear. Alchemist Warner will be biased against you, and Physician Evans will be harsh but unbiased. Be careful—Elder Calvin's voice cut off before he could finish.

"Communication with the outside world is strictly forbidden," Apothecary Hawthorn continued. Communication with other examinees for collusion is also forbidden. You may use the tools you've brought with you unless the examiner forbids them in advance. Skills and spells are naturally allowed unless they break the rule on communication."

One of the alchemists in the room raised their hand. "Is the use of familiars allowed? If so, with what restrictions?"

"Familiars are naturally allowed in the examination," clarified Apothecary Hawthorn. "Assuming, of course, that it is not used to break the rule on communication. For all intents and purposes, they are considered an extension of your person."

"There is only one exception to this rule: spirits. Spirits who were experts in alchemy in their former lives will provide an undue advantage to an examinee since there is also no guarantee that this spirit will continue to be available to the examinee. Anyone else? No one? Everyone's time is precious, so let's get right to it."

He walked over to a large stone platform on the examination room's stage and flicked his sleeve. A semi-rotten carcass appeared on the stone platform, and blood immediately began to pool into the troughs that had been carved into the platform in advance.

The alchemists in the room immediately turned queasy, and some even retched. Conversely, the apothecaries were not overly bothered by the sight and were used to dealing with such situations.

"This demon was once a living, breathing sabretooth shadow panther, a two-star demon with the strength to match a standard third forging cultivator. We captured and poisoned this creature for the sole purpose of this examination. Your first test is to correctly identify the poison or poisons that led to its death. Names are irrelevant—the type of poison, the poison interactions that took place, and the effects on the specimen's body are the key details I'm looking for. You may use all the tools you have at your disposal. You have one hour. The test begins now."

The alchemists and apothecaries immediately scrambled toward the corpse and began collecting samples. Hair samples, flesh samples, bone samples, and internal organ samples were the go-to way of identifying poisons.

Sorin wasn't in a huge hurry compared to the others. Instead, he cast Patient Viper's Analysis and focused on the corpse. Since the demon was dead, it was impossible to make out the creature's mana pathways, but he could make out the creature's core and bones quite clearly.

The demon's core is pitted, and its bones show signs of erosion. The poison is concentrated in the liver, spleen, and brain but has not reached the bone marrow.

He delved a level deeper. The shadow panther's main runes focus on strength, stealth, and speed. Its regeneration isn't overly powerful. Its core elements are shadow and wind. Its corruption is Violence-based.

Upon reaching the third level, the picture became even clearer. Blood vessels are intact. Musculature is intact. Corruption is concentrated in the core and not in the flesh and blood, meaning that the creature was likely unaware that it was poisoned until it was too late. Rupture wounds on the organs indicate constant destruction and regeneration. The same can't be said for the brain, the creature's weakness. Its consistency is softer than one might expect.

Final analysis: The cause of death was the persistent rupturing of the internal organs. Brain damage led to an inability to consciously mobilize corruption on time to spur regeneration. This was further impacted by the presence of a second poison that attacked the creature's bones and core. The creature was likely unaware of the damage before it reached a critical point.

By now, the examinees had all returned to their worktables and removed cauldrons and other test media. Some were actively using skills and spells to identify the poison. A few, likely those with deeper medical knowledge, were still inspecting the corpse. Sorin joined them, placed his hand on the corpse, and used Hand of the Medicine God to extract a bit of the poison from various parts of its body. He then used toxic metabolism to digest and analyze it.

Acitoxins and hemotoxins are confirmed. Neurotoxin is also confirmed but is concentrated in the brain matter. Also… the stomach? It was an interesting combination. He quickly compiled a list of possible poison reagents and determined that they were likely new strains developed specifically for the examination.

He then listed down everything he knew about the poisons and how they had affected the demon's body before writing his answers onto the information jade he was provided. Once the hour was up, he submitted jade to the examiner.

"Examinee #1, pass," said Apothecary Hawthorn. "You correctly identified the bone-attacking acitoxin and the hemotoxins that concentrated those same acitoxins in the liver and the spleen. The hemotoxin's characteristics are rapid propagation, attraction, and accumulation in these specific organs. Due to the hemotoxin, the acitoxin wasn't concentrated near the bones and demon core, but it is still extremely efficient in attacking them, resulting in light damage that affected the target's vitality."

"Examinee #2, pass. Examinee #3, fail." He continued in this fashion until he arrived at Sorin's information jade, where he frowned. "Examinee #37, fail. The poisons had nothing to do with the brain and stomach. Neurotoxins, though present, were not critical to the process. This is a classic example of pursuing an unrelated symptom and needlessly expanding the explanation."

Sorin was not surprised by the assessment but wasn't going to back down. "I object to this assessment."

"You may object, but it doesn't matter," said Apothecary Hawthorn. "What I say here is law."

"Yet your opinion is flawed," said Sorin, not mincing words. "In fact, I would go so far as to say that without the neurotoxin, the demon would not have died."

The apothecary paused. "Explain your reasoning. If it doesn't satisfy me, you won't just fail this exam but will be prohibited from taking further examinations for an entire year for backtalking me."

Sorin nodded. Accepting his challenge but issuing a harsh punishment for failure was consistent with Elder Calvin's insistence that Apothecary Hawthorn was an arrogant individual.

"First, please note that the corruption in the creature's core was not fully mobilized. Its flesh and blood aren't infused with violence as it would typically be if the demon realized it was under threat. This distinction is easy to miss for someone who isn't an adventurer. Violence-aligned demons are often docile unless provoked. This is because their violence-infused consumes a lot of energy and can even be threatening if prolonged needlessly."

"Couldn't the poisons have acted too swiftly, leading to death before mobilization of violence-aligned corruption?" countered the examiner.

"Unlikely, given the scarring indicative of repeated rupture and regeneration. I estimate at least twenty cycles, meaning that the creature would have taken anywhere between twenty seconds and forty seconds to die."

"It was thirty-two seconds. Continue."

"Second, note the shallow pitting in the bones and core relative to lesser corruption in the rest of the body, key organs excluded. Shallow pitting is consistent with a prolonged and gradual attack on the bones and core. Given the keen survival instincts of a violence-aligned demon, the creature would have definitely felt itself gradually weakening.

"Thirdly, and this is the most important part, the brain wasn't damaged beyond repair. It was only weakened. While it wasn't the cause of death, its soft consistency is consistent with what is typically found in cognitively impaired victims. This cognitive impairment would have applied both to active reasoning and the creature's subconscious thoughts, including instincts.

"Given the combination of these three factors, the most likely explanation is that the creature was poisoned, but it didn't realize it until it was too late. Because of its cognitively impaired state, it didn't notice the damage to its bones and cores on time, causing it to fail in entering its violence-infused state, greatly lowering its toughness and regenerative capabilities."

Examiner Hawthorn seemed to accept this but continued with his line of interrogation. "I fail to see how this is related to the stomach."

"The neurotoxins are most concentrated in its stomach, not its brain. Given the unhealed wounds on its arms and torso, I'm guessing that this creature was in pain due to a particularly intense battle and recovering from its injuries. It was self-medicating by ingesting herbs that would inhibit pain. These herbs had the unfortunate side effects of cognitive impairment.

"That's why it wasn't able to react on time. That's why it succumbed so easily to the poison. Had it entered a violent state, a second or third dose of poison may have been required."

For a moment, the room was silent. The elder clenched and relaxed his jaw multiple times, and in the end, he walked over to the corpse, took out a dagger, and cut a large gash in the creature's abdomen. He then removed the stomach and sliced it open, revealing a large bundle of partially digested herbs. "Silver oblivion grass, an E-Tier two-star poison. It is not lethal, but the effects are along the lines of what Examinee #37 explained.

"Though examinee #37's explanation appears to be the most correct, I believe this poisonous interaction is beyond what should be expected of a new two-star apothecary. I can only pass #37 with distinction and assess the rest of the examinees using the agreed-upon criteria.

"Examine #38, pass. Examinee #39, fail…."

He continued until all 55 examinees were assessed. Thirty-nine examinees passed, while 16 failed.

After reading the results, Apothecary Hawthorn said, "That concludes the poison identification examination. We will now proceed directly to the poison concoction examination. Alchemist Warner, the floor is yours."