Chapter 200 - 200: The Observation
The Observation
The observation chamber was silent, save for the low humidity of mana built into the walls. It was a clean, glass-paneled room set above a much larger laboratory, like those people find in hospitals that allow surgeons to observe their peers' work. The only difference was that who lay below wasn't a person being cut open, but a single young man in a crisp white coat.
A dozen people stood behind the reinforced glass, observing.
Down below, Osho adjusted his gloves with deliberate and practiced movements. He was calm and collected, like he was preparing for a recital rather than an experiment. The light revealed that, around him, several sealed vials, stones, and containers lay on the tables in a specific and neat order
"He's, quite calm," One of the older observers muttered as she tapped her stylus against the tablet in her hands. "Most students get nervous when they're told the higher-ups are watching."
To the side, Mateo nodded slightly. "That's how he is. If anything, he's more nervous about the time he's wasting here not doing his experiments than all of you being here." This earned a few chuckles from the others.
However, the air was still heavy with anticipation. In truth, sessions like these were rare. Even rarer when the one being observed was someone Stellaris itself invested so heavily in.
"I see that he finally made the push to the Adept rank," Another person beside Mateo spoke. "Seeing as his aura is stable, that means he waited for his foundation to stabilize. It's quite quick, considering he only became a beast tamer this year."
"He did it quietly, but yes," Veronica spoke this time, her usual carefree attitude subdued in the presence of so many superiors. "The tests confirmed it earlier this week. His beast advanced cleanly. No instability or backlash."
"Good," Another observer nodded. "I heard that he hatched his second beast recently, too, and it's been displaying considerable synergy with his first beast."
"That's right," Veronica said, her voice taking on a prideful note. "He's been working on improving their natural coordination. Apparently, he acts as a bridge within their three-way bond, allowing them to transmit their thoughts across seamlessly. He doesn't talk about it, but we noticed."
Mateo crossed his arms and watched Osho below.
"And all of this in a bit over a month after enrolling. It's like his coming here opened the floodgates to his potential, and he's thriving."
That prompted the first real smile from the third oresence in the room. A tall, broad-shoulderwd man leaning against the back wall. His uniform was dark blue with flecks of dots on it, like stars, and on his chest was the black emblem of a Legendary Rank Beast Tamer.
He's the one who has been training Osho's group the most every Wednesday.
"I've seen it firsthand," He said slowly, but his tone was steady. "The speed at which his beasts adapt is unlike anything I've ever seen. And his ability to coordinate them is something else."
"You speak of him highly, Sir Havlor," Veronica said with a small smile. "You seem to have taken a liking to him." At this, Havlor chuckled.
"That's putting it lightly. His strategy against the simulated pack last week was... unconventional, but it worked. His beasts unique abilities as well as his innate understanding of his environment allowed for him to control said environment instead of simply focusing on offense, making the beasts tire themselves out. His friends followed his instructions perfectly, too. It's not something you see every day, I'll say that much."
"And yet," One of the observers said quietly. "For all that control, he still hides the vital parts of his research."
The mood in the room shifted slightly, and everyone knew what the person meant.
Osho's lab privileges were near absolute, protected and enforced under Stellaris's clause for independent researchers at a very high level. However, that same clause required proof of progress in exchange for renewing resources. And Osho's true research, his work on evolution, was something he couldn't show.
"He's been preparing for this," Veronica said after a few seconds. "Whatever he's showing today, it should be enough to justify extending the budget."
Below them, Osho took a slow breath. In and out. Then, he ensured the recording devices were in place before speaking in a calm tone.
"Experiment 47 through 50," He started, his tone professional and curt. "Subject: Adaptive tonics. Applications lie in beast physiology and enhancement." He spared a glance at the window above, but moved on quickly.
He instead focused on a flask of Azure liquid that glowed slightly.
"First demonstration. Vital Stream Tonic. It is designed to accelerate the absorption rate of Mana by the cells and increase passive recovery after battle. Unlike Vitakity Tonics, which use crude energy flooding, this compound works by amplifying the efficiency of the beast's conduits." Hearing this, the looks of everyone watching became interested, while Mateo and Veronica glanced at each other.
The... incident that occurred happened shortly after Osho's enquired about conduits during his first class. It seems like he didn't quite let go of that, huh?
Down below, Osho opened the flask and poured a drop onto a single beast scale restjng on a tray. The liquid seeped into the veins across the surface, and then the scale shimmered as faint pulses of energy ran through it.
The monitors in the observation room lit up.
"Absorption rate... two hundred percent at baseline," A technician reported with undisguised surprise.
"Two hundred?" One of the observers muttered, brows slightly raised. "Forget a tonic, that's basically a catalyst."
"Side effects?" Another asked.
"None detected." Was the reply.
Osho simply added more drops and watched for a while before nodding. "Response remains stable even after multiple applications. No visible rejection or adverse reactions."
He then put the flask away and took out a syringe. It was faintly green and occasionally gave off sparks.
"Next, the Strain Equalizer. Designed to stabilize a beast's physical output under extreme stress. Normally, repeated burst attacks cause stress on the muscles and mana pathways, reducing efficiency over time. This solution temporarily expands those muscles and pathways, essentially allowing for a higher tolerance threshold without long-term strain.
He injected a small amount of the substance into a machine meant to mimic a beast's muscular and Mana structure. Immediately, the machine showed a hologram of a beast's circulatory system which expanded and pulsed, but it was controlled and stable with no signs of collapsing under pressure.
"That's... He essentially mimicked the adaptive response of a beast's circulatory system artificially."
"He's basically re-creating how a creature trains itself... without years of conditioning." Mateo mumbled under his breath.
Osho continued, his tone as calm as usual, but there was a passionate glint in his eyes.
"Duration is ten minutes, after which the expansion retracts naturally. No permanent alteration to any of the aforementioned pathways. Tested twice, zero degradation."
The older woman with the stylus spoke up. "If these results are consistent, combat training for beasts will see a massive overhaul."
Havley folded his arms. "And he's just getting started.
Below, Osho reached for the third item. A small orb sealed in a transparent case with a faint hold glow.
"This one," he said. "Is a prototype which i call a Link Catalyst. It's intended to strengthen bond and synchronization between a tamer and their beast without direct or invasive magic. Essentially, it harmonizes the already familiar mana signatures between the two.
"Like a resonance field?" Veronica tilted her head, and she got a few nods of agreement.
Osho activated the orb, and the lights in the lab dimmed slightly as golden threads uncoiled from the orb and weaved together before fading. "It's still unstable," He admitted. "But progress is steady. Initial tests show that the delay between Tamer and Beast gets cut down by 30% at least and 50% at most."
The murmurs in the observation room rose again. Even the usually impassive Mateo looked genuinely surprised.
"He's covering every major facet. Recovery, endurance, coordination," One professor pointed out. "Each one with observable results."
"And he's doing it while making it look like it's simply standard research." Veronica said with a smile and added under her breath. "That's my junior for you "
"Mhm. He isn't just working smarter. He makes his genius look casual and familiar, but it doesn't feel forced either. Like he genuinely believes this isn't overly impressive." Havley nodded.
Below, Osho turned yo the last sealed contained. This time, it was a fine red crystalline powder that glowed faintly. Everything he made glowed, really.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Final item. Essence Refinement Dust. A catalyst designed to accelerate how beast's assimilate natural treasures and external materials. Normally, absorption inefficiency wastes around 40% of usable energy. And that's when the natural treasure is a match for the beast. With this, that loss drops to a bit less than 5."
He used a pair of tongs to place the dust near a mana ore. Thebore began to dissolve rapidly as the dust shimmered, absorbing the released energy and direction it into a sample of beast flesh suspended within a tweezer.
The monitirs lit up.
"Absorption rate... 96%." The technician nearly failed to keep his composure.
The observation room was silent for a moment, then, Havlor spoke.
"Well, I'd say that's enough to justify the budget renewal."
"More than enough." Mateo concurred.
The others also gave their opinions, but Veronica watched with slightly narrowed eyes, the younger boy falling into deep thought like he hadn't just flipped a field of study.
"... He's holding back." She said quietly.
"You sure?" Mateo looked at her with surprise.
"Very," She nodded. "All of these are... controlled. Everything he's showing, whike incredible, can be explained through known principles." She pressed her hands against the glass. "But whatever he's really working on... it's not this. This is just a smokescreen."
Below, Osho calmly removed his gloves and placed them on one of the tables before exhaling, then he looked up and briefly caught Veronica's gaze... and smiled.
'How's that?'