Instructor Willowsage was busily organizing various documents on the impressive mahogany desk in the corner, but seeing Aena's hesitation, she called out to her.
"Miss Aena, do you need something?" Instructor Willowsage asked warmly.
Aena paused for a second deciding whether to respond or not, but her intrusive thoughts got the better of her and she unleashed her rather embarrassing question.
"About dual cultivation… what exactly is it?" Aena sputtered while awkwardly looking to the side and fidgeting with her sleeve.
Instructor Willowsage's face changed from one of surprise before resting to one of realization.
"Silly girl, it's nothing like what you think." At this point, even Instructor WIllowsage had a bashful look on her face. "While there is a… existing preconception of such a thing, dual cultivation simply refers to circulating mana together with a partner."
Aena at once understood that she had been thinking the wrong thing the entire time.
"Well then, thank you Instructor Willowsage," Aena gave a polite bow before scampering towards the open exit. The embarrassment was gnawing at her from the inside out. She was just about the duck out before she heard Instructor Willowsage call out behind her.
"Wait!"
Aena turned around.
Seeing Aena's ashamed expression, Instructor WIllowsage couldn't help but give her a reassuring smile.
"I'm aware that you're the only commoner in this classroom." She paused.
"I was once a commoner too, you know," she said with a nostalgic look on her face.
Aena thought back to the pointed look that Instructor Willowsage had shot earlier. So it wasn't one of contempt, but rather of seriousness.
Instructor Willowsage was a better person than she had originally thought. She jumped a few rungs on Aena's hierarchy of likeability.
"There's just something about you that reminds me of myself… some premonition," Instructor Willowsage shook her head and turned her gaze back to Aena. She bent down and rummaged through some drawers on her desk. Following the sound of clicking metal, she pulled out a small vial.
"Here." Aena reflexively extended her palm to receive the vial. The instructor dropped the vial filled with greenish serum into Aena's open hand.
"This is an advanced grade mana-growth potion." What she didn't say was that it was one of the highest quality on the market with impressive gene stimulation and nano-particle properties.
Only the scientists themselves knew how it worked; it had to do with some bioengineering marvel involving the self-repairing of DNA, and fundamentally altering biochemical reactions in the body.
"Consider it a gift, for your troubles," the kind instructor said with a knowing look.
"Just remember to not rely on your talents; don't slack on your work ethic."
…
Aena didn't ingest the serum immediately. It wasn't that she was wary of Instructor Willowsage sabotaging her, but that she had made it a habit of understanding what was happening to her body. She didn't want to whimsically drink it like a kid addicted to Kool-aid.
Her thought process dictated that the potion wasn't going anywhere; she could drink it whenever she wished. Therefore, several days of classes passed before she decided to down it. Nothing really happened in those days. She guessed she could say she got closer to some of her fellow peers—especially Emmy.
The Physical Training Class wasn't any better than the previous time. Cassidy was also as cold as ever, although they were pretty much established as partners, so she felt a bit more comfortable with the impassive girl. She was still just as unexpressive, but Aena felt like she could read more of her slight facial changes. Some of the other students in her Spiritual Attunement Class treated her much worse in comparison, but it wasn't something she couldn't handle.
Back at the dorm, Aena lay in her bed with the cold glass of the vial pressing against her palm. She looked at the unassuming liquid sloshing around. She knew how precious a single vial was. She personally had never been able to get her hands on one of these potions, even low-grade ones.
It was a given that she wasn't aware of its true value since she didn't even bother to search for such an unattainable item with her meager credit balance. Yet here she was, having acquired one rather easily on one of her first days at the academy. Of course, that was absolutely due to Instructor Willowsage's temperament and partiality, but it was still undeniable that the academy's influence offered the greatest education and resources.
Growth potions specifically invigorated a person's innate potential and slightly strengthened a person's abilities. Of course, it was all useless without the effort of constant physical or magical usage, but it still greatly enhanced the efficiency of one's training.
Awakening potions were almost identical to growth potions except for a few added reagents that made the contents easier to absorb and reduced bodily rejection. After mana pathways were opened during the awakening, the additional chemicals were useless, so they were removed for cost-effectiveness.
It was almost crucial that awakening potions were specifically only used for awakening since the resulting side effects were unpredictable; using other potions could even lead to a gruesome death, bleeding from all seven orifices.
An unawakened person wasn't useless, as they could still contribute to society through the technological development industry and serve as melee fighters, but there was an emphasis on the Awakened since they had the potential for mass destruction. Since machinery took over many labor-intensive jobs, anyone else was in tough luck.
While melee combatants had to physically engage with threats, mages could cast "spells" or manifestations of their mana outside of their bodies. From across far distances, they could cause miles of devastation, which made them very versatile as a military unit.
Of course, melee combatants could still utilize mana for even greater boosts to their power, but it wasn't in the same manner that mages wielded their mana.
Aena fiddled with the precious vial in her hands once more before decisively unscrewing the lid and downing the contents.
She swallowed every last drop of the liquid down her throat and immediately felt a burning sensation within her stomach. It was a slightly tingly sensation, and it soon spread out throughout her body, energizing her from her fingertips to her toes.
It kind of felt like she was being electrocuted lightly. Not that she knew what that felt like…
The lasting tingly feeling soon turned sharper— into mild pain.
'Hmmm?' Aena was pretty sure that the modified cells in the potion weren't supposed to cause any discomfort.
Suddenly the light pain gave way to a heavy, twisting agony that permeated her body.
'What's happening!?' she panicked with tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. She gritted her teeth and told herself to endure the pain. She didn't know why such a strange event was occurring, but she couldn't do anything except persist for now.
She struggled to hold on since it wasn't just typical, physical pain. Aena had been through various levels of distress throughout her life, especially since she lived in a shady neighborhood since childhood, earning badges of personal honor through various bruises and cuts. But the horrible twisting agony was something on a whole other level.
Aena felt like someone was taking a scalpel and flaying her from the inside out while needles were piercing her skin from the outside. Combined with that was a terrible headache that seemed as if someone was detonating explosives inside her head, and she pervertedly felt partially grateful for the pain as it drowned out some of the torment she could feel from other parts of her body.
She squeezed her eyes shut as seizures wracked her body and waves of pain cascaded incessantly. The suffering was so great that her head couldn't hold any thoughts—there was only the concept of pain, served with a side of pain, and seasoned with more pain. She heard a ghastly scream escape her lips, one that didn't sound like hers.
As more pain assaulted her body, she finally couldn't hold out any longer. The interminable agony was inundating her limit. Her mind ultimately shut down, at last giving reprieve from the excruciating torture.