Chapter 6: The main report details the boy falling ill.

Julius is in his office, reading the scroll he scribbled down for the tidying spell. It’s not a real spell scroll – those come in already refined layered circles and can be activated with mana, like training wheels.

Julius’ spell scroll is a long sheet of paper detailing each layer separated into pieces. He made it more efficient but honestly, it can’t tidy anything past ‘put on the shelf’ as demonstrated by his office’s now squeaky-clean carpet floor but oddly cluttered bookcases.

He’ll give himself a month, if he hasn’t fixed the spell by then it’s going on those bookshelves and getting buried under all the other spells that just aren’t worth it to remember.

Knock, knock.

“Are you working?”

“Yes,” Julius lies and puts the scroll away. “I mean, no, you can come in.”

He clears up his desk a little, mostly shunting it all to one side, so McPherson can drop off a heavy box of items from the warehouse on his desk before she leaves again.

Julius busies himself with completing his work – just shuffling through and organising which ones he’ll need today. Most items are packaged neatly by the warehouse staff, and McPherson only brought up the ones important enough that he has to personally deal with.

Diedrik’s file is on the bottom.

The first line of the main report details the boy falling ill with a high fever and the doctor pronouncing him dead.

“Oh,” Julius says slowly as he realises how this is going to go. Julius closes the file. He makes some tea, gets a snack, and then settles into his viewing chair with his feet kicked up because he loves a good story.

Diedrik Govain was born to a duke household, the highest noble title available. The land they own is known for agriculture, mostly due to Diedrik’s mother being a 3^rd class magician who specialises in environmental spells like her mother before her.

The duchy is a place of vast lands and boredom, so most of the family lives in a holiday mansion in the capital here and travels back to their territory for work. None of this is particularly notable. They have an adequately duke-worthy income and nothing more.

Diedrik has an older brother and a younger sister, both also particularly average. As a matter of course, all three children were tested for being magicians when they were barely out of the womb. All three testing crystals came back positive and the brother is currently 1^st class while the sister is 2^nd with high hopes for both of them advancing as they grow older.

Diedrik has been spotted using 3^rd level spells, the witness being McPherson, but his official class is blank.

Not long ago, the little boy was struck with a fever that lasted two weeks. The doctor told the family he was dead and then Diedrik woke up. Two days later, he was in Julius’ office and requesting a rare creature part.

For the last few days, he’s been sneaking around the town well enough that not many paid attention to the kid, and that part of the report is vague. However, not a day after Julius passed on the carapace, a brief windstorm whipped up around the Govain mansion.

Diedrik was seen later, and according to the spy’s aura-seeker item, has a small power boost.

Julius closes the file and rushes over to his desk, grabbing a silver-framed mirror out of his drawer and standing it on the desk. “Chloe! Chloe, what do you mean power boost?!”

The mirror flickers a bit and then the other side switches on, revealing the local Spy Guild’s master. A woman in glasses and a cable-knit sweater, currently sitting in an office. “Julius! Did you like the report? Juicy gossip, isn’t it?” she gushes excitedly.

“Power boost as in mana-wise or is he 4^th class now?” Julius demands, taking a seat so the angle on the mirror is better.

“His mana is well within 3^rd class range,” Chloe reassures. “No, in the span of a day he got a significant mana boost, timed to the windstorm.” She leans forward, elbows on her desk and chin in her hands, a smirk on her face. “Isn’t that fascinating? Have you heard about something like that before?”

“There are potions that can restore mana but none that can adjust the personal limit,” Julius muses.

He flips through the file again quickly. Everything else seems to be basic notes on the family and the duke’s connections. Diedrik’s been sneaking around for only a few days after his fever, surely it’d be connected.

“What else did he buy recently?” Julius demands. “I want a list. Actually, I don’t want a list – give the list to…” he snaps his fingers a few times. “What’s that privately funded research centre? I think I had a person there. Ugh, I’ve forgotten.”

“I don’t know, I don’t work for you,” Chloe scoffs but then smiles innocently. “I can wait while you ask Buttercup.”

“Please don’t call McPherson by her first name; I’m the one who has to listen to her complaining,” Julius tsks but he’s already standing and moving to his door.

Five minutes later, he returns to the mirror to see a giggling Chloe reading a risqué novel with a bright pink cover that has a muscled hunk of a man on it.

“Get the list to Walter, he’ll set it up,” Julius says. Pauses. Makes the deliberate decision to not ask what she’s reading because it’s definitely a trap.

“This is a separate service from the file,” Chloe reminds him.

“Send the invoice to Omar.”

Julius reaches over to pick up the mirror but before he draws back his mana to break the connection, Chloe surges forward.

You are reading story Gaslighting the Gods in Your Prayers at novel35.com

“Wait!” she cries in dramatic outrage. “I can’t believe you didn’t ask.”

“I don’t want to know,” Julius admits. “Anyway, bye-“

“Can you find me more of these books?” Chloe turns the book so he can see the cover better. “This is the only one I’ve found and it’s so gloriously dramatic. You would not believe the kind of twists this thing has.” Chloe leans into the mirror, eyes wide. “You think being a spymaster is entertaining? Julius, I am about to blow your mind with this plot.”

“Do you need me to start a coup in this kingdom, so you’re not bored out of your mind anymore?” Julius offers.

“You don’t mind spoilers, do you?” Chloe continues. “Because I-“ She grabs a handful of her sweater and gasps a little bit. “He is her stepson!”

“We could assassinate your brother so you can go back and take over the main branch,” Julius continues but resigns himself to sitting back down.

“Then she gets together with the stepson’s mother!”

---

The research lab is somewhat crowd-funded; the scientists loaned out as needed. The alchemist lab is on the third floor, only topped by spellcrafting, and a young intern shows Julius the way to an open floor plan room.

It didn’t take too long to crack, barely week has passed, because Julius was able to hand over a full list of all the things Diedrik had bought – many with exact amounts. A rookie move to not disguise it by buying more things as well.

Julius himself could have thrown everything into a pot, but he still expected weeks for the characterisation of the product. They must have worked around the clock, or else Julius is greatly overestimating how alchemy works.

The room is filled with large, stained benches spread neatly but filled with clutter, and storage space shoved into every nook and cranny. Shelves above the benches are spilling out various glass jars and vials, some leaking. Each strip of the benches is bordered off by red paint and a faintly glowing protective barrier in a lovely green.

A group of scientists are clustered around one particular bench and the intern leads Julius straight over. It’s a group of four and they definitely look like they haven’t slept in a while.

“This is Julius,” the intern introduces as they go through shaking hands. “Julius, this is Hakim, the general manager for the labs.”

Hakim has brilliant green eyes and is a towering man with a beard almost as long as his wiry hair. His hand grip is firm and dry. “Julius, nice to meet you. I’ve taken over responsibility for your project as lead scientist.”

“That’s quite the step down for you,” Julius jokes.

“Not at all,” Hakim states. “It’s good to get out of the office. Especially when a project like yours falls into my lap.”

“Good news then?”

“Have you patented it?” Hakim demands.

“How about you show me your findings first and then we can discuss that,” Julius says amiably.

Hakim nods and turns back to the bench they’re standing around. “The product does increase raw power levels but it’s diluted. It gives you volume, and you have to then meditate and concentrate it back into yourself.”

The product is a liquid, a barely glowing white potion that sits quietly in a ceramic crucible on the table. Julius reaches out to test the consistency but Hakim shoves his hand back.

Julius smothers his expression into a smile. “I wasn’t expecting you to go past physical characterisation. Who did you test it on?”

The intern shyly raises a hand. “I haven’t-“

“They haven’t absorbed all of it yet but it was a significant boost to a 1^st class,” Hakim explains. “Perhaps a fifth more. Through modelling, I’ve found it would mean barely a handful at 3^rd class – unless it stacks but we haven’t been able to get our hands on more ingredients.”

There’s a pause, where Julius is meant to offer to extend their contract – his ingredients for Hakim’s research.

“Interesting,” Julius says. “Thank you for your time, you’ve gone above and beyond.”

It is rather interesting, especially since the product should have an effect on a majority of magicians if Hakim is correct.

4^th classes like Dilani are already rare. A step up is 5^th class, one born into a kingdom every generation. There are around a hundred 6^th class magicians alive at any one time across the entire globe, forty 7^th class and so far only five 8^th class magicians currently exist.

In the entirety of human history, there were two 9^th class magicians born. One was smothered in the cradle. The second almost brought down the gods.

Julius wonders how Diedrik got his hands on something like this.

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