Bonnie was bent over wiping dust from Lance's desk and did not seem to notice him watching her.
'Does she actually know anything about this?'
Lance decided not to reveal his suspicions yet.
He spat out the bread and said, "Leave for now. I'll eat the rest later."
Bonnie looked surprised, but after serving Lance for some time, she had learned that he disliked having his orders questioned. She obediently left the room.
'Analyze the toxin immediately. I want its composition and effects.' Lance ordered silently.
Fox replied: [Analysis complete. Although you expelled the food quickly, you still absorbed a trace amount of the toxin.]
[The toxin acts slowly. A very small dose causes little immediate harm, but long-term exposure would severely damage cognitive ability and eventually cause profound mental impairment.]
[Using the local books you previously had me scan, I have identified a probable source.]
Fox's processing speed was astonishing. The report had taken only moments.
'What source?' Lance asked coldly.
[The Red-Crested Cobra, a snake found in coastal regions. It commonly lays eggs on warm beaches and possesses characteristics of both aquatic animals and reptiles, making it difficult to classify under Earth's biological system.]
[Its venom can cause immediate blindness as well as brain damage. When diluted by approximately ten thousand times, the toxin closely resembles the substance detected in your food.]
'A Red-Crested Cobra?'
Lance was familiar with the creature. During his intensive reading on the local world, he had studied some of the region's wildlife as well. Red-Crested Cobras mated and laid eggs in summer. Fortunately, they were not particularly aggressive and generally avoided humans.
Their venom could not be stored for long, which meant the snakes had little military or economic value. They were simply common creatures along the coast.
'So that woman is even more impatient than I expected.'
Lance sneered inwardly.
Without Fox checking his food, he might have been slowly reduced to a helpless fool without ever understanding why.
He had expected Nancy to use something obvious, perhaps an assassin. This was far subtler.
If Lance died suddenly, Viscount Lane would immediately become suspicious. But if the supposedly useless second son gradually lost his intelligence, almost no one would think to investigate murder.
Especially because the old Lance had already possessed such a poor reputation.
...
'I wasn't planning to strike back this soon. But if she's already pushed things this far, it would be rude not to return the gesture.'
Lance considered the matter for a while.
He found a cloth bag and swept half the meal into it. He tore and scattered the remaining food so that it looked as though he had eaten part of the dinner, then hid the bag away.
Next he opened a desk drawer and felt along the right side.
'I remember it being here...'
His fingers soon found a hidden compartment. He lifted the concealed panel and withdrew a small cloth pouch.
A thin red cord bound its mouth.
Inside were more than a dozen seedlike objects.
Basman Vine seeds.
Amman had given them to Lance as a gift during his earlier studies, and the former Lance had carefully preserved them.
Basman Vine itself was not an especially rare magical plant, but its seeds were uncommon. Only about one seed appeared for every thousand mature plants.
Those seeds were also the primary material used to create the Tier 0 magic item known as [Beating Grass].
Magic items were one of a wizard's common tools in combat. As a general rule, a wizard could create magic items only up to the tier permitted by his own level and training.
Lance had mastered meditation and was now a Junior Apprentice within Level 1 Wizard. At present, he could produce only Tier 0 magic items.
Compared with the lengthy process of learning spells, making a simple magic item could be much faster.
Although Lance was now technically a wizard apprentice, he had not yet mastered a single actual spell, not even a Level 0 one. Spell study could not be rushed. Learning even a basic spell might take ten days or half a month.
Creating [Beating Grass], on the other hand, required only about eight hours when the materials were ready.
...
Lance arranged several dried Basman Vine seeds on the table and took a small bottle of purple liquid from the bookcase.
The liquid had also come from Amman. The old wizard might not possess a high rank, but he was quite skilled at crafting magical items; otherwise he could never have built clay guardians as powerful as the ones outside Moonlight Tower.
The purple liquid was called [Leiman Mutagenic Solution]. It was mixed from alcohol, purified water, and Leiman Grass extract, and was one of the required materials for Beating Grass.
During his previous lessons, Lance had learned how to make only two Tier 0 magic items from Amman.
Beating Grass was one of them.
"The early stages are simple. As long as the materials are available, even an ordinary person could handle the preparation."
Recalling the procedure, Lance poured some Leiman Mutagenic Solution into a small cup.
Then he dropped six or seven Basman Vine seeds into the liquid and sealed the cup with a lid.
They needed to soak for four hours.
...
Late that night, Lance yawned while keeping one hand pressed firmly over the cup.
The mutagenic process had driven the spell factors inside the seeds into a violent state, and without pressure the seeds might have burst straight out.
Clack-clack-clack!
The cup shook wildly against the table.
The altered seeds slammed around inside, producing dull knocking sounds that seemed especially strange in the quiet bedroom.
Fox announced: [Four hours complete.]
Lance immediately became alert.
The critical step had arrived.
Beating Grass counted as a Tier 0 magic item because only someone possessing mana could complete it. Ordinary people could prepare the materials, but they could go no further.
The crucial step was guiding an appropriate amount of mana into the Leiman Mutagenic Solution. The wizard's mana and blood would suppress the unstable spell factors temporarily and force them into a controllable state.
Lance had only recently become a wizard apprentice and had never learned the Level 0 spell [Mana Guidance], so he had to use the oldest method instead.
He gathered mana within his body and concentrated it at the tip of his left index finger.
Then he used his sharp short sword to make a shallow cut across the fingertip.
Blood carrying mana immediately welled from the wound.
Lance hurriedly opened the cup, let four or five drops fall into the solution, then sealed it again.
The violently shaking cup became still almost at once.
He bandaged his finger and slowly exhaled.
The most important step was complete.
In that brief moment he had lost eight points of mana, and at least half of it had been wasted. The loss made Lance wince. He could feel his body becoming weaker almost immediately. When mana remained stored within him, it seemed to strengthen his entire body slightly.
"Another four hours and the Beating Grass will be ready."
Lance placed the cup in the center of the table, stretched, then collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.
By morning, the first magic item he had ever made should be usable.
Its effective lifespan would be roughly forty-eight days.
And when the time came, Madam Nancy might receive a very unexpected gift.