Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 6 Laboratory

The moment the stranger vanished, Kyle realized with a jolt that he could no longer recall the man's appearance. His features, the shade of his skin, his hair, and even the resonance of his voice had become a total blur.

It felt as though a thick shadow had veiled his memory, leaving behind nothing but the image of a flashing smile and perfect white teeth shown just before the departure.

"What was that?" Kyle whispered. A turbulent storm of emotions surged within his chest.

He had even lost track of his arrival at the facility, where a crowd of prying onlookers had greeted him... He felt like a rare beast being put on display for a group of spectators.

"Why does that guy look like he's still breathing?"

"Maybe he thought the cart was a carriage and decided to hitch a ride?"

"Haha... He's likely searching for a woman's body. Probably so desperate he'd settle for a cold one."

"Hmph! You're just describing yourself."

The laborers were busy forging or melting steel beside massive furnaces, causing the ambient temperature to soar to grueling levels...

Only about fifty workers remained on the floor, as several others appeared to be on a rotation break.

Kyle’s bizarre arrival had caught their attention instantly, and they wasted no time mocking him to find some small amusement in their grim lives.

Snapping back to his senses upon hearing their jeers, Kyle felt a desperate urge to leap from the moving cart and escape. Beyond the fear, a wave of intense humiliation washed over him.

Yet, a strange, invisible power seemed to command him to stay put...

'What is this...'

It was another supernatural occurrence as he remained rooted to the cart until reaching his final stop... He was transported deep into the bowels of the factory, passing through six heavy doors until the rhythmic clanging of hammers finally faded away.

The chamber—or perhaps a laboratory—into which he was delivered was enormous. Under the brilliant yellow glow of a chandelier, he began to survey his surroundings.

Rows of shelving were lined with glass jars, each containing some sort of specimen preserved in blue or red fluids. In the far right corner, bookcases were packed with texts, while the left corner remained obscured by several storage units... The center of the room was dominated by workbenches cluttered with complex devices he couldn't identify.

Still, he spotted a few familiar instruments typically used in scientific research.

Near the entrance sat a raised platform furnished with a sofa and a wooden table, evidently serving as a lounge area.

'A laboratory... Please tell me it's not what I think...' Kyle shuddered, fearing the fate that awaited him.

Thud!

The cart ground to a halt. At that moment, Kyle felt the invisible shackles release him; he was finally free to move.

However, seeing the 'zombie' begin to shift again, he instantly froze. He had no idea how to handle such a creature.

Bang!

Without warning, the cart was tipped over. Before he could react, the seven bodies—Kyle included—were dumped unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Aackk..." The abrupt fall caught him off-guard, leaving him tangled in a painful, awkward heap.

The weight of the corpses piled on top of him only added to the agony.

Creak. Creak.

Ignoring the living boy, the zombie simply resumed pulling the empty cart and departed the laboratory, leaving Kyle stunned.

"Urgh..."

Kyle shoved the heavy bodies aside and crawled out from the pile. Drenched in sweat from the effort, he finally looked up to see a man watching him with an expression of intense curiosity...

Disregarding his aching limbs, he stared back at the man with extreme caution.

The individual was elderly, featuring a face etched with wrinkles and thinning white hair. Despite his age, he maintained a professional air, clad in a lab coat and goggles while gripping a quill... He was perched behind a desk, having been hidden from Kyle's view by the 'zombie' until now.

"Hey... Were you part of the corpse shipment brought in by the Variant?"

The old man's voice carried a mix of shock and dark amusement. He had been expecting a delivery of the dead, not a survivor.

'He doesn't seem aggressive... I can handle this...'

Kyle fought to suppress his terror, anxiety, and dread. Drawing a deep breath to find his nerve, he answered, "Yes... there appears to have been a misunderstanding. Actually, someone already pointed this out and mentioned that a Mr. Heinz would handle it. Is that your name, Sir? Oh, I am Kyle, Sir."

"Mhm... That is indeed my name. Can you recall the face of the man you spoke with earlier?" Heinz inquired, setting down his quill and interlacing his fingers.

He seemed to find the situation entertaining and abandoned his work entirely.

By now, Kyle had managed to stand, though he stayed close to the pile of bodies for safety.

"I'm sorry. Once he vanished, his face slipped from my mind..." Kyle hesitated for a second before adding,

"Well, I do remember he had very perfect teeth."

The old man's lips quirked as if he recognized the description, and he nodded knowingly.

"So it was the vice headmaster. That explains it."

A sudden silence filled the lab. Kyle didn't know how to respond to that revelation. He didn't care about the vice headmaster; he only cared about his own survival.

After a moment of deliberation, Kyle asked tentatively, "Sir Heinz, may I ask what is to become of me? Do you plan to turn me into a zombie, like the creature that pulled the cart?"

Heinz arched an eyebrow at the question.

"Zombie? That isn't a zombie. It's a living creature, not an undead... Zombies come from Necromancy. That thing is a Variant, a creation of Dark Alchemy... a completely different field. Bah, why am I bothering to explain this to you?" The elder shook his head and continued.

"The vice headmaster likely intends for me to take you as an apprentice... I was once in your shoes. The Dark Possession took an unusually long time to manifest in me because of my unique physique. You likely possess the same trait..."

Heinz’s voice grew soft as he gazed at Kyle, seemingly lost in the memories of his own past.