"But, is it true?" Lotus could hear Ying Hui question her curiously.
Of course, it is! Lotus grimaced inwardly. She was confused until Vil began to recount the tazer, the kidnapped child, and her words! Back then, she had been around for a while searching for a kidnapped child of a banker when she found a couple of kids holding a weapon she had just learned about from her god grandfather a few weeks prior to her visit. Seeing the kids trying to attack two other children with it, she couldn't just sit by and watch them accomplish their intention of causing harm on the two. So, she jumped into the fray while restricting her use of magic and pressured the boys to surrender. She purposely shouted angrily at them so that everyone in the vicinity could hear her and come to the scene or notify adults that wouldn't just stand by and do nothing. It was the first thing her god-grandfather said to do in this scenario. Moreover...
She stared at Vil as he was left in deep thoughts as she grumbled in disbelief in her heart. The reason why she didn't recall them was that she only recalled saving a wolf beast man and a young girl! Who knew that that little "girl" was Vil of all people?!
Back then, Vil was a slightly tall and thin boy. He had rather feminine features without even the need to apply make up on his face. Even then, his face was still rather clear and pristine. Followed by the sharp eyes and long eye lashes, she had completely assume that it was a girl in trousers and a wool vest! Even the shoulder length hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail! To think that young girl she had played house with all those time was actually a boy! At least, say something for God's sake!
Thinking about this only made her more annoyed. Why, she should've just left them there after she finished verbally beating those boys! She had no idea that she would end up meeting childhood friends in this school! Ah, could this be because she lied about not cleaning up the third floor prior to the destruction of Ramshackle dorm that karma is getting back at her now?!
For now, it's better to pretend that she has no memories of them. As bad as it is to lie to friends, it doesn't seem like Vil will let her go if she acts irresponsibly in this pocket dimension. Not to mention, he will definitely keep her from leaving the dorm or even bring Jack in if she agrees to knowing him and Jack from back then and she would rather not brainwash Jack as beastmen and beastwomen have an unpredictable amount of willpower and determination that can very likely create a number of crazy outcomes if left unchecked. So, there's a good chance that Jack may break free from his own brainwash while she's not around and Jack has learned how to create plans to achieve his goals compared to his reckless past.
With her spell on him, it would keep him from sharing knowledge of her presence with others in this dorm too. So, hopefully, no one else unexpected finds her here. All she needs to do now is to avoid going out or get spotted by Grim and Yuu who's also staying here, but...
She quietly bit back a strange nervous feeling welling up from inside, which surprised her a bit. Was this guilt?
"The poison is so deadly..." Vil grimaced after cleaning away the poison goo from her wound, "That girl is good with poison..."
"This is child's play." Lotus grumbled in annoyance, "However, for most people from larger continents, this may seem difficult. But, that's only because a majority of the materials and ingredients used to produce this poison can only be found in places difficult to reach, even with today's technology. Moreover, a deadly type of mana was spiked into the poison to be smeared onto the arrow tip."
"Mana can be used into poison?" Vil looked to her with surprise.
"Yes." Lotus nodded, "If you inject mana into the plants, it will take in the mana as it would with air and nutrients from the soil. It would alter the plants' genes, characteristics and effects a little, but, if you continue to do the same with next generations, the outcome would be completely different from the original. You'd create a new species of plant too."
"Interesting, but what about the mana that is deadly?" Vil questioned curiously.
"It's blot." Lotus responded bluntly.
"Blot?!" Vil stared at her with a shocked expression across his face, "Blot can be controlled?!"
Lotus nodded, "The people here might not have known about this, but blot is actually the easiest to use after you take it into your body. It's easy to manipulate to your heart's desires and grow terrifyingly strong. However, doing this is dangerous to both the body and the mind. Taking blot into the body can corrupt the mind and make the body addicted to blot. It's no different than taking drugs only it gives the consumer immense strength. Those who can take it and make use of it requires great desire and control over their bodies. Doing so, they gain titles to the different amount of powers they have nurtured. That girl back there was no different."
"That girl?" Vil looked to her in bewilderment, "That girl takes in blot instead of mana?"
Lotus nodded again as she secretly took out a porcelain bottle from her ring, "She and I are born from the same region, I bet. We're thaumaturges from distant lands. Instead of taking in mana from our surroundings, we're able to store large amounts of it in our bodies and cultivate on it. The stronger our bodies become the more we can take in. However, once we began to think negatively or take in the wrong type of mana, we can get corrupted and go down the wrong path. The right path has its own taboos. Although coming into contact with blot is not a taboo, cultivating it like mana is. There's very few cures to it, compared to some drugs that requires rehabilitation and time, and not using it cuts their life down. From what I witnessed, she has just stepped over the line just a few hours ago, so there's very likely no going back from there."
"Could she be the reason why you are here?" Vil questioned curiously.
Lotus nodded with a sigh, "Well, that's one of the reasons. Normally, I don't come to this island and, as a student, I don't have any interest to enter any of these dorms for no reason. Not to mention, there are a lot of secrets in this school that not even the current headmaster knows about. A lot of them has to do with the founders of this school too."
"I recall that you have an order on the same level as the founding headmaster of this school?" Vil noted curiously.
"Yup." Lotus said as she tapped the powdery antidote onto her open wound, "It was the mirror that called me here and instructed me to come to this dorm, but, after the last incident, someone of that power called me back here as there was an attack on him. What you saw earlier was me distracting her away from him so he could heal properly. Since I've given him the antidote, he should be able to decipher the rest of the poison and come up with an antidote by himself."
"Just who is that person?" Vil questioned hesitantly, "It's been over a hundred years since the founders started the school. They wouldn't be around anymore too."
"That's because these people have a longer lifespan than humans." Lotus responded, "They're not humans, but they are indeed people and they were instructed with a vow to protect the dorm and its students. However, part of the oath is that the students cannot know who these people are unless the students ends up meeting them themselves."
"Why is that?"
"These are people from my birthplace." Lotus answered as she dabbed away some of the excess powder and bearing the pain that came with it, "Those who take in mana into their bodies like taking in oxygen don't require much food or rest. At the same time, the stronger they become, the longer their life span extends. However, that also comes with the need to seclude themselves from mortals."
Hearing this, Vil frowned, "Why would they seclude themselves?"
"Because of attachments. In this school, being around students would mean that they would form connections and attachments with the students they protect, but, in society, it would mean outliving them and watching them and those people's descendants grow and pass on." Lotus responded, "When connected to many, they would see many pass away as they continue to walk on this earth. Most who are as strong as us can live for thousands of years and there are rumors of those who live for tens of thousands. The lifespan of a normal person is like a blink of an eye for us and few can come to understand and accept this calmly."